Mental Health Provisions

Onkar Sahota: London’s mental health provisions vary greatly by borough and local area. They are unfortunately very patchy across the city with some Londoner’s not having somewhere local to address and support their needs. As Mayor, will you consider assessing where there are gaps across London and then coordinating conversations between boroughs to improve in areas that are lacking in support?

The Mayor: As a champion for the NHS and for Londoners’ mental health, I have worked to ensure London has the powers it needs to best address some of its unique mental health needs.
In 2019, I signed along with other health and care partners up the London Health and Care Vision, which set out our shared ambitions for deeper and stronger local collaboration in neighbourhoods, boroughs and sub-regional systems so that services are genuinely integrated, on mental health along with other priority areas.
Our local health systems work to assess need and allocate funding for services accordingly, based on population data and other sources of evidence to ensure we make best use of funding and target support to areas which have greatest levels of unmet need. I am pleased that the Mental Health Long Term plan has secured funding to support ongoing expansion of community and crisis mental health support for Londoners.
There are of course different levels at which mental health needs can be addressed, beyond mental health services. I am supportive of Thrive LDN’s coordination of the public mental health response to the pandemic. This looks at services but also preventative action and effective signposting, to everything from crisis lines to digital resources like Good Thinking.

Good Thinking

Onkar Sahota: How well has the launch of Good Thinking, London’s digital mental wellbeing service, gone and how many people have accessed the resources?

The Mayor: Good Thinking was launched in November 2017. The service has been used by 485,000 people and been accessed over 685,000 times since launch. Usage has increased significantly since the onset of COVID-19 with more than 185,000 users since the beginning of the pandemic.
The service has shown a responsiveness to need, producing relevant content at speed in response to changing guidance and as the needs of different population groups affected by COVID-19 have emerged.

Mental Health

Onkar Sahota: Research has continued to suggest declining mental health in most groups, to varying degrees, throughout the pandemic. I am pleased that one of your recovery missions looks at this. Can you give me further details on how you plan to address the mental health of Londoners?

The Mayor: The mental health and wellbeing recovery mission aims to enable and empower Londoners to improve their own and their communities’ wellbeing, particularly those whose wellbeing is worse or at greater risk. Through the mission, we’ll work closely with communities and with local partners to understand what would be of most value to them, and to recognise and build on the many examples of great initiatives and collaboration already happening across the capital.
The NHS, local authorities, the voluntary and community sector, faith leaders, schools and colleges, and many more have been working hard to support the mental health of Londoners. Good Thinking and Thrive LDN, who have been leading on the public mental health approach for the city, have been working with many of these groups throughout the pandemic. I have been working closely with both organisations to identify further opportunities to support Londoners’ mental wellbeing now, while also providing foundations for the recovery programme

ThriveLDN

Onkar Sahota: How has ThriveLDN responded to the mental health needs of London’s children and young people? And are there plans for any future ThriveLDN programmes to provide ongoing support to children and young people?

The Mayor: Thrive LDN has continued to deliver the youth Mental Health First Aid training programme online for schools, colleges, and the wider education system. This has also been extended to include youth workers and those who work with children and young people in voluntary and community organisations.
Thrive LDN has commissioned parenting support programmes, including ‘peer parenting’ and ‘resilient parenting’ to support parents and carers to deal with the challenges they face during this time.
Thrive LDN is also working with partners to develop creative workshops, gathering insights from young Londoners on their experiences during the pandemic. This programme includes a resilience building workstream, focused on supporting Londoners aged 18-24 who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Thrive LDN will continue to prioritise and support children and young people with projects and initiatives, now and beyond the pandemic.
Beyond Thrive LDN, there is also a new Good Thinking website aimed at young people that offers support and advice.

Officer assaults during the pandemic

Unmesh Desai: Pleas provide a breakdown by month and by BCU, if possible, of assaults on Police Officers since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of assaults on police officers broken down by Basic Command Unit (BCU) between 23/03/20 and 31/01/21.
2020
2021
BCU
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Central East
9
40
48
55
67
56
63
47
51
60
80
Central North
5
37
51
69
47
56
63
55
33
24
27
Central South
17
95
82
98
103
94
92
47
83
71
56
Central West
11
64
98
209
109
78
123
80
100
61
68
East Area
7
39
55
46
55
50
40
46
48
42
29
North Area
23
37
30
44
48
39
42
21
28
35
27
North East
18
50
63
41
31
95
45
60
50
41
31
North West
18
68
68
86
66
80
42
48
67
43
59
South Area
11
70
56
55
58
72
77
68
67
55
61
South East
16
52
65
52
60
73
48
72
63
63
48
South West
7
32
42
39
60
48
41
37
40
36
35
West Area
10
75
74
63
65
82
73
45
51
51
53
Grand Total
152
659
732
857
769
823
749
626
681
582
574

Proposed ULEZ Expansion

Andrew Boff: As part of the Mayor’s Environment Strategy, did you estimate the number of motorcycles, cars, light vans and minibuses registered in London which would be affected by the expansion of the ULEZ planned for October 2021 and do you have any data on how the numbers of such vehicles have changed since that assessment was carried out?

The Mayor: As part of the consultation materials for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion, prepared at the end of 2017, TfL estimated the numbers of vehicles that would be affected by the scheme in 2021. Since many vehicles driving within the zone come from outside London, this calculation was not based upon vehicles owned by London residents, it was based on a daily average.
The estimate was broken down into cars (including private hire vehicles) and vans (not exceeding 3.5 tonnes). TfL forecast that in 2021, without the expanded ULEZ, there would be approximately 100,000 non-compliant cars and 35,000 non-compliant vans. TfL will be updating estimates of non-compliant vehicles during the course of the summer 2021 taking account of expected release from lockdown measures due to coronavirus which has continued to affect travel patterns in London, and new systems in place for the expanded ULEZ. Based on our observations in the zone during February 2021 we estimate that on average 83 per cent of cars, 63 per cent of vans, 65 per cent of minibuses, and 93 per cent of motorcycles are compliant.
I have invested over £50m in scrappage funds to support small business and low income Londoners replace older more polluting vehicles. I have repeatedly asked the Government to match this funding and extend the reach of the schemes, as they have done for both Bath and Birmingham.

EU exit officers

Unmesh Desai: How many officers have been assigned to help manage the transition of the UK leaving the EU and the loss of tools that has gone with this? If possible, please provide details of how long these officers have been working on this, and for how long the work is planned to continue for.

The Mayor: The MPS preparations for the impacts of Brexit have been overseen by the Brexit Steering Group which is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner. This meeting has membership drawn from across all MPS business groups and ensured that plans were in place prior to the end of the transition period. It has also monitored impacts since 1st January 2021.
The MPS does not have any officers dedicated to managing the impacts of the UK leaving the EU, however a Detective Chief Inspector is acting as operational lead as head of the Met’s International Assistance Unit. This unit is responsible for liaising with external agencies, communicating changes to Frontline Policing and providing ongoing training in using new policing tools. This unit deals with extradition requests from abroad, all incoming requests for Mutual Legal Assistance and any request for police-to-police cooperation. In addition, each BCU has an International Single Point Of Contact who is able to give advice to their peers or signpost into the International Assistance Unit or ICCC.
The MPS has been supported in its preparations for leaving the EU by the International Crime Coordination Centre (ICCC). The ICCC have provided two dedicated staff members to assist the MPS post Brexit with loss of policing tools. They have been working with the MPS for the last 18 months and will remain in post, alongside an MPS Operational Lead, until early 2022.

Nurses not Hearses Campaign

Navin Shah: Harrow Mencap are running a ‘Nurses not Hearses’ campaign, calling for more Learning Disability nurses in hospitals. According to a Public Health England report, 6.3 times more deaths occurred among people with learning disabilities than in the rest of the population. Will you support and publicise this brilliant and important campaign?

The Mayor: I am deeply concerned that people with learning disabilities have been so disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. I am grateful and pay tribute to Mencap for their tireless work on behalf of people with learning disabilities.
The factors affecting death rates are very complex and go beyond health and care services, for example to housing, education, access to appropriate sources of health information and support. My Statutory Health Advisor, Professor Kevin Fenton is leading Public Health England’s response to the disproportionate impacts of COVID 19.
The NHS has worked throughout the pandemic to provide treatment and care to everyone affected by COVID-19. They are continually learning and applying the lessons as the experience of treating and managing the illness evolves. The issue of specialist learning disability provision is the responsibility of the NHS.
I meet regularly with both Professor Fenton and Sir David Sloman, NHS London Regional Director, and I will raise this very important issue with them.

High-rise training (2)

Andrew Dismore: When do you expect high rise training exercises, including simultaneous evacuation, to recommence?

The Mayor: Good progress is being maintained on delivery of station-based lectures which will conclude on 31 March 2021 and complete Phase 1 of the rollout. Phase 2 will commence from April 2021, with eight pumping appliances allocated every weekday for station-based staff to participate in practical Fire Survival Guidance andHigh Risesessions at local stations and venues. These have been designed and developed flexibly for delivery in a Covid-secure environment. Larger scale exercises are currently scheduled for delivery in June and July for organisational assurance. Further large-scale exercises will be scheduled throughout the 18-month Phase 2 delivery period, as additional venues are secured.

Blue Badge Scheme (3)

Len Duvall: Kensington and Chelsea council agreeing to allow blue badge holders to obtain up to four hours of free parking in zones near the borough’s major hospitals if they make a small payment. Do you believe that Westminster, Camden and the City of London should do the same? Please give your reasons.

The Mayor: An element of consistency to on-street parking policies in London is important. However, it is also important that local policies reflect differences in the pressure on local streets. Any changes to Blue Badge policies in these boroughs need to be carefully designed, for example, to ensure that disabled people who need parking to access their home or workplace are still able to do so.

Fares Trials Fund

Alison Moore: What discussions, if any, have you had with the Government and/or the London based Train Operating Companies regarding routes in London being part of the trial?

The Mayor: I believe this question is related to the work to deliver flexible season tickets. Transport for London (TfL) has had discussions with both the Department for Transport and Rail Delivery Group on this matter.
However, flexible season tickets are of little relevance in London, where TfL’s Pay as You Go scheme provides better flexibility and value than traditional season tickets and customers pay only for the journeys they make, whether on TfL or National Rail services. This offer, coupled with daily and weekly capping, has seen sales of season tickets fall sharply. A daily cap is one-fifth of the cost of weekly travel, ensuring that customers with less regular travel patterns already get the same value as customers who travel five days a week.

Blue Badge Scheme (2)

Len Duvall: Do you agree there is a need for a “standardised and compassionate” policy across London on the use of pay-and-display parking bays by disabled people with blue badges?

The Mayor: An element of consistency to on-street parking policies in London is important. However, it is also important that local policies reflect differences in the pressure on local streets. Any changes to Blue Badge policies in these boroughs need to be carefully designed, for example, to ensure that disabled people who need parking to access their home or workplace are still able to do so.

Silvertown Tunnel

Len Duvall: Can you explain why cancellation of the Silvertown Tunnel does not mean more resources for other transport projects?

The Mayor: The public private partnership mechanism used to finance the construction of the Silvertown Tunnel means the private sector Riverlinx consortium is responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining the Tunnel. As such, the Riverlinx consortium privately finances their construction costs so that Transport for London (TfL) only starts paying - via revenue generated from toll contributions - once it is built and available for operational use in 2025.
This model of private sector investment ensures that TfL can deliver this significant new infrastructure without impacting on the wider TfL investment programme. The private finance for the capital investment is contractually tied to this scheme and so cancelling the project would not mean it could be reinvested into other schemes. Equally, cancelling the project would mean TfL having to pay significant compensation to Riverlinx -the budget for which would have to be reallocated from committed investments. Residents and businesses in east London are in desperate need of a resilient river crossing, frequent and reliable public transport and cleaner air – I will not cancel the scheme that has been proven to deliver these vital benefits.

ULEZ Expansion (3)

Keith Prince: How many cameras does TfL estimate the ULEZ would need to be expanded to the North and South Circulars?

The Mayor: Cameras play an essential role in making the ULEZ effective. The central zone has seen the number of vehicles meeting the emission standards rise from 39 per cent in February 2017, when changes associated with the ULEZ began, to 85 per cent in December 2020.
The area covered by the existing Congestion Charge and ULEZ has around 650 cameras. The new zone will be 18 times the size, but new technology means Transport for London estimate that only around 750 new cameras will need to be installed as part of the ULEZ Expansion scheme. The project will also upgrade an additional 288 existing monitoring cameras to ULEZ cameras to support the scheme.

Idling of buses

Caroline Pidgeon: I have received reports that buses are left idling at Camberwell bus garage, with engines often kept running when bus drivers are switching over between shifts. What steps are being taken to ensure that the idling of buses is stopped at this garage and throughout all bus garages in London?

The Mayor: All staff at the garage have been reminded though local communication channels to switch off engines during changeovers in Camberwell. They have also been referred to the Engine Off Every Stop campaign, and reminded of the importance of minimising tailpipe emissions.
Idling is being tackled more generally with driver training, supervision of vehicle movement in and out of some garages at the busiest times, and operator notices about switching off. Some makes and models of bus incorporate technology which automatically stops the engine if the accelerator is not being pressed, while Transport for London’s (TfL’s) current fleet of zero-emission buses has no tailpipe emissions and will grow from 445 to 700 by the end of this year. All diesel buses in the core fleet have also been lifted to the ultra-clean Euro VI engine standard, which cuts the most harmful pollutants like particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen by up to 80 and 95 per cent respectively.
Transport for London and I are aiming for the entire London bus fleet to be zero emission by 2037 or earlier if possible as part of a sustainable funding deal TfL.

ULEZ Expansion (2)

Keith Prince: In total, how much money does TfL expect to spend on the expansion of the ULEZ?

The Mayor: The current final estimated cost for the ULEZ Expansion is £120-130 million. This cost includes improved access to public transport, staffing and the signs, cameras and back office systems needed to make the scheme operational. The Mayor and Transport for London have sought to deliver the infrastructure needed to operate the scheme in the most cost-effective way possible.

Future TfL Funding

Alison Moore: What steps are you taking to secure TfL funding beyond March 2021 and when will the new funding package be announced?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has laid out its plan to become financially sustainable by 2023/24 in its Financial Sustainability Plan (FSP). The FSP sets a plan to enable TfL to breakeven on operating, financing and maintenance costs by 2023/24, with funding of £1.6bn per annum (at 2025 constant prices) required for major capital investments from 2023-2030. 2021/22 is the first year of that plan. This is the only option which ensures TfL will have sustainable and adequate funding in the long-term to maintain London’s transport infrastructure and achieve the levels of investment in the transport network that the capital needs to fulfil its crucial role as the engine of the UK’s economy. London contributes nearly £40bn of tax revenue to the Exchequer, enabling crucial spending across the country.
The FSP has laid the groundwork for discussions between TfL and Government officials that are underway ahead of the current funding agreement expiring on 31 March 2021. Since its submission in January, TfL and Government are in daily discussions on the funding, and TfL has responded to hundreds of questions from Government appointed advisor, KPMG as part of this.
On 18 March, a draft letter offering a two-month extension to the current funding agreement to 18 May 2021 had been received. As at the time of responding to this MQ, we were working to determine whether this is in Londoners’ best interests ahead of any final offer being received from the Government. Ministers will ultimately need to provide TfL with long-term financial sustainability to ensure London makes a rapid recovery to support the country’s recovery.

EU Horizon funding

Len Duvall: What are your plans to support London business who choose to bid for EU Horizon programme funds?

The Mayor: I welcome the Government and EU’s confirmation that the UK will be able to continue to access the €95 billion EU Horizon Europe programme that supports research and innovation. Albeit as a ‘third country’ no longer in the EU, our participation seems unlikely to be on as advantageous terms as it was in the past.
The European Commission is yet to confirm when the new 2021-27 programme will open for applications. But once launched I expect that London-based higher education institutions, businesses and research organisations will continue to participate in its transnational co-operation projects, that are of enormous financial, technological and social benefit to London. I will continue to work with London stakeholders to support applications for Horizon.

Proportion of Londoners living near cycle routes (2)

Caroline Russell: I asked you previously about the proportion of Londoners living near your strategic cycle network by borough in my unanswered question 2020/0061. The published overview of the upcoming report, Travel in London 13, states that 17.9 per cent of Londoners live within 400 metres of your strategic London-wide cycle network. Could you provide data to show what proportion of people in each borough currently lives within 400 metres of a high-quality cycle route?

The Mayor: In 2017, 8.8 per cent of Londoners lived within 400 metres of the cycle network. This figure rose to 15.3 per cent by March 2020.By the end of October 2020, 17.9 per cent of all Londoners lived within 400 metres of the cycle network, including permanent cycle routes as well as temporary cycle routes delivered through the Streetspace for London programme. 240,000 more Londoners live within 400 metres of the network compared to March 2020.
The breakdown by borough is shown in the attached table. Note that since this analysis was undertaken, new sections of the cycle network were completed, including in Barnet, Bromley and Sutton.

The Mayor: 4303 Proportion of Londoners living near cycle routes (2) attachment.pdf

TfL Report on 3rd Quarter 2020 Croydon Tram Safety Incidents

Keith Prince: A 10 February 2021 meeting of the Safety, Sustainability and HR Panel report shows that the First Group Croydon Tram was involved in 3 significant safety incidents in the third Quarter of 2020, all of which had the possibility of being catastrophes. Given these recent incidents and reiterating my unanswered Question 2020/4111 “what gives you confidence that First Group is cooperating with TfL on Tram Safety now?”

The Mayor: There have been a number of positive examples demonstrating that TOL is co-operating with Transport for London (TfL) on Tram Safety issues. The work to implement the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) recommendations have required a high degree of collaborative work between the TOL and TfL teams. For example, the industry leading Physical Prevention of Overspeed system, now in service across the whole network, required close co-operation to ensure the system could be introduced effectively. Further, the teams work closely together on a daily basis in responding to things like instances of trespass and vandalism, with TOL ensuring that the response received from the British Transport Police is appropriate and targeted to the right areas. Local specific safety campaigns to reduce instances of things like slips, trips and falls in depots and on the network are also carried out to make sure the possibility of staff and passengers being injured are eliminated.
There is no complacency.TfL takes its safety responsibilities seriously.TfL expects TOL to do the same and will take such steps in the day to day working relationship with TOL, pursuant to the contract with TOL and in relation to the Office of Rail and Road as are appropriate to promote and ensure co-operation and compliance.

Reviewing emissions inventories

Caroline Russell: Department for Transport (DfT) road traffic estimates have been revised upwards, after a benchmarking exercise to review minor road traffic flows. Does this have a further knock-on impact on modelling of air pollution based on traffic counts such as the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI) 2016?

The Mayor: As stated in the answer to MQ 2021/0008, the new road traffic estimates from the Department for Transport (DfT) are the result of a national-level statistical benchmarking exercise rather than a ‘real’ change or measured trend in London. The estimates are not consistent with Transport for London’s (TfL) own monitoring of minor road traffic flows over the period which show broad stability.
TfL is currently reviewing its key statistics potentially affected by this change and any updates will be reflected in future modelling, though revisions to TfL’s models are expected to be minimal.
It is important to note TfL’s air quality modelling is calibrated using observed data from around 100 ambient air quality monitoring sites in London. It will therefore continue to produce estimates that are in line with these independent measurements of pollutant concentrations and these are not therefore directly affected by this revision.

TfL Go App (2)

Susan Hall: Since the launch of the "TfL Go" app in 2020, how many downloads/uses has it had?

The Mayor: Since it launched for iOS in August 2020, the Transport for London (TfL) Go app has been downloaded more than 78,000 times. TfL’s second funding deal with Government required it to complete roll out of TfL Go for Android by the end of the 2020 to support real-time travel information for customers planning their journeys.
The app uses the latest customer information to provide status updates and the features will continue to be improved in line with customer feedback. It provides real-time train times and information in a mobile-friendly way to enable customers to travel at quieter times outside peak hours – helping them maintain social distancing – as well as alternative routes and walking and cycling options as default for shorter journeys.
The app also supports TfL’s continuing commitment to making journeys for those with accessibility needs as easy as possible. It includes a step-free mode and easy to navigate views of all stations which currently have street-to-platform accessibility.
Over the course of the pandemic, TfL has made 70 updates to the Journey Planner dataset and issued up to 1,220 real-time messages per day dealing with busier periods, revised services, bus stop closures and diversions.
However, there has been very limited TfL Go marketing activity during this period because of lockdown. A widespread marketing campaign will launch in the coming months, tied to TfL’s recovery plans and the phased lifting of Government restrictions.

Mayor's Office Staff

Shaun Bailey: How many staff were employed within the Mayor’s Office for each year since May 2016?

The Mayor: The total number of staff employed within the Mayor’s Office for each year since May 2016 is as follows:
Year
Staff no
May 2016 to April 2017
57
May 2017 to April 2018
65
May 2018 to April 2019
70
May 2019 to April 2020
60
It should be noted that from early 2018 to early 2020 the Fire & Resilience team was based in the Mayor’s Office, and that in early 2020 the Government Relations team moved to the Strategy & Communications directorate.

Rezoning of tube stations

Caroline Pidgeon: The Financial Sustainability Plan published by TfL on the 11 January 2021 put forward the recommendation of extending zone 1 to Canary Wharf, suggesting this would generate around £25m per annum beyond 2021/22. Please state whether this proposal would include bringing other stations into zone 1 such as Bermondsey and Canada Water stations and if this is being investigated further by TfL.

The Mayor: The Financial Sustainability Plan mentioned the extension of Zone 1 to Canary Wharf as one possible option for generating additional revenue. However, revenue generation is clearly not the only factor taken into consideration when setting fares policy. Should this policy be taken forward, it would form part of a wider set of changes that aim to provide a coherent fares offer, which would likely involve a review of the fares structure that applies to stations in and around the Isle of Dogs.

London Fire Brigade

Susan Hall: Could you confirm that at the end of the month LFB will have definitely completed the Grenfell Inquiry Phase1 recommendations?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade expects that 17 of the 29 recommendations (59 per cent) will be completed by the end of March 2021, and 19 by the end of June 2021 (66 per cent).
My monthly report detailing progress against the recommendations can be found here:https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/mayor-london/grenfell-tower-inquiry-mayoral-updates

Victim Support (1)

Susan Hall: How successful has Victim Support been, since your £15m investment for improved services for victims & services, in bringing specialist support services together to provide one contact point for victims?

The Mayor: The London Victim and Witness (LVWS) has successfully brought a range of specialist services together in order to provide a simpler single referral pathway and point of contact for adult victims and witnesses of crime in London. The LVWS subsumed the functions of a range of distinct victim services including the previous generalist adult victim service, Restore:London’s restorative justice service, and the Pan-London Domestic Abuse Service. The LVWS is a partnership led by Victim Support and includes the following specialist organisations: Calm Mediation, Galop, Shelter, Sistah Space, and Stay Safe East.

Gig Economy Meetings since the Pandemic

Shaun Bailey: How many times have you personally met with freelancers and representatives/workers from the gig economy to discuss their issues and needs since lockdown began? Who were they, when were these meetings, and what were the outcomes of these meetings?

The Mayor: I and my team regularly meet with representatives of workers including gig economy workers, including through my regular meetings with the TUC’s London, East and South East Region. Throughout the pandemic my team have continued to meet with workers, trade unions and businesses to discuss the challenges freelancers and gig economy workers are facing. The single biggest concern that freelancers and gig economy workers have shared with me is the gaps in the Government’s self-employment income support scheme, which excludes hundreds of thousands in London and around the country. In November I took part in an event organised by ExcludedUK, which has been campaigning on behalf of self-employed, freelance and gig economy workers across the country who have been unfairly excluded from Government support, during which I had the opportunity to hear from and discuss the issues with a number of participants.
Last March, my Deputy Mayor for Culture, Justine Simons, hosted a roundtable on creative freelancers with the Centre for London attended by 100 employers and freelancers. This has been followed by a substantive research piece on self-employment in London by Centre for London, commissioned by the GLA, which also engaged freelancers.

15m investment for victims & witnesses (3)

Susan Hall: Has your £15m investment in improved services for victims & services met one of the key priorities in your Police & Crime Plan i.e. to provide joined up support available to witnesses & victims of crime in the criminal justice system?

The Mayor: Yes. In 2018 I secured the devolution of pre-trial support for victims and witnesses of crime in London which has enabled the London Victim and Witness Service to provide effective joined up support to victims and witnesses going through the criminal justice system.

15m investment for victims & witnesses (2)

Susan Hall: Has your £15m investment since created the UK’s largest dedicated service centred on the needs of victims & witnesses of crime?

The Mayor: Yes.

Zero Emissions Buses in London (3)

Leonie Cooper: What monitoring of the impact of zero emissions buses has been made?

The Mayor: London’s regulatory air quality monitoring network was used to evaluate the impact of the twelve Low Emission Bus Zones, recording reductions in annual average nitrogen dioxide of up to 45 per cent between 2016 to 2019. We will continue to use London’s monitoring network to evaluate the impact of improvements to the bus fleet, including the introduction of zero-emission buses.
Through modelling we know that an electric bus will avoid up to 22 tonnes of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and around 0.2 tonnes of particulate matter (PM) every year compared to a low emission conventional diesel bus. Additionally, electric buses do not emit tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2), helping to reduce the impact of public transport on climate change.

25m low-income Londoners scrappage fund

Susan Hall: How many low-income Londoners have taken advantage of your £25m scrappage fund, launched in 2019 and how many polluting cars have subsequently been taken off London roads?

The Mayor: A total of 10,900 applications have been received for the Car and Motorcycle Scrappage Scheme. 4,424 applications have been accepted and 3,962 of these have completed their application by scrapping their vehicle and progressed to payment.

Toxic Air Pollution (4)

Susan Hall: Are you on track to ensure that, as you have pledged, by 2025 there will be no London primary or secondary schools in areas of toxic pollution?

The Mayor: The bold measures I have introduced have already reduced the number of state primary and secondary schools in areas exceeding the legal limit for NO2 from 455 in 2016 to 14 in 2019, a reduction of 97 per cent. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was anticipated that five primary and secondary schools would be located in areas exceeding the legal NO2 limit in 2020, with none by 2025.
My audit programmes identified ways in which we could help these remaining schools and through the London Schools Pollution Helpdesk I hope to support these and other schools across the city to carry out audits and implement measures to improve air quality for London’s children.
However, there is more work still to do to clean up London’s air. All schools in Enfield and Haringey still exceed the World Health Organization guideline limits for particulate matter. This is why I am committed to expanding the ULEZ later this year. This will help deliver a 30 per cent reduction in NOx road transport emissions. Ongoing work by TfL to clean the bus fleet will result in further air quality improvements and we will also continue our work with local authorities to tackle pollution hotspots.

Met contact centre domestic abuse training

Unmesh Desai: Please advise a) what training Met contact centre staff receive on handling domestic abuse calls b) how often this is refreshed c) whether contact centre staff proactively refer callers to domestic abuse services.

The Mayor: All Communication Officers, including contact centre staff, complete an intensive, 8-week training schedule. This includes a comprehensive programme on law, policy and procedures encompassing victim care in relation to domestic crime, harassment, forced marriage and honour-based crimes. Police Officer call handlers go through a slightly shorter course, as they already have a solid grounding in legislation and policy from their two-year foundation training.
New call handlers are continually monitored in their first year. Every team has two professional development days per year, plus monthly ‘Knowledge Hubs’ which cover operational updates and any changes in procedure, including on domestic abuse as required.
The call handling system has incident prompts to assist all call handlers. Whilst there is no policy to proactively signpost victims to any service, the operators have access to organisations that provide support to victims and share details of services with the caller as appropriate.

U18s Free Travel

Joanne McCartney: How many under-18s in my Enfield & Haringey are eligible for free travel?

The Mayor: The compulsory school leaving age was raised to 18 in 2015. This means that all Enfield and Haringey school-age residents are eligible for free travel. GLA Mid-2019 based housing-led population projections show there are 84,309 under-18s in Enfield and 59,847 under-18s in Haringey.

Actions following the death of Lucia Ciccioli (3)

Caroline Pidgeon: In answer to question 2020/4248 you stated that TfL has mapped the CasualtyHarm Rate and Excess Harm data to highlight the most harmful roads and this information is available to the boroughs.
Please state:
1) What were the harm scores for Lavender Hill / Elspeth Road when Ms Ciccioli was killed?
2) How many other junctions on the TfL network have a similar or higher score in terms of risk?
3) When does TfL plan across its network or roads to have risk levels at a lower level than the score for Lavender Hill/Elspeth Road?

The Mayor: Firstly, I offer my condolences to Lucia Ciccioli’s loved ones following her tragic death on our streets. It is a truly awful outcome for her family and friends, who remain in our thoughts.
The analysis of data to provide these scores was not conducted until April 2020 and therefore not available at the time of Ms Ciccioli’s death. My understanding is that in April 2020, harm scores were applied to road segments and not junctions. The segments that contained the junctions of Lavender Hill and Elspeth Road have Casualty Harm Rates of 3.2 and 2.9 harm per million km travelled, and Excess Harm of 32 and 53 harm per km for Latchmere Road and Lavender Hill respectively. There are over 200 segments with the same or higher risk scores. This is out of 1,721 total segments analysed.
Every death or serious injury on our roads is completely unacceptable. That is why I have committed to a Vision Zero goal of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries on London’s transport network by 2041. Transport for London (TfL) has published a Vision Zero action plan that sets out a range of measures to reduce road risk in London, and includes detail of specific interventions, projects and programmes to help make London’s streets safer. In March 2020 I delivered on my commitment to introduce a 20mph limit on all TfL roads in central London, and TfL has now completed safety improvements for vulnerable road users at 41 high risk junctions across its road network. In the last year alone, TfL delivered a further 20km of lower speed roads, and 90km of protected cycle lanes in partnership with the London boroughs.

Actions following the death of Lucia Ciccioli (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: In answer to question 2020/4248 you stated that TfL has mapped the CasualtyHarm Rate and Excess Harm data to highlight the most harmful roads and this information is available to the boroughs.
Please state:
1) When was this data first available to the boroughs?
2) Which boroughs have requested the data?
3) What if any measures are in place to hold boroughs to account that fail to reduce road danger using this data?

The Mayor: We were all saddened by the tragic death of Lucia Ciccioli, and our thoughts remain with her family and friends.
My previous response to question 2020/4248 stated that the analysis has been shared with boroughs. Whilst data on collisions and road risk is shared regularly with all boroughs, this specific analysis on Excess Harm data has not yet been promoted. Transport for London (TfL) will be providing this in the near future in a way that is most helpful for the boroughs to use.
I am committed to continuing to work with all boroughs to actively pursue ambitious proposals to move London closer to my Vision Zero goal for all deaths and serious injuries to be eliminated from London's transport network by 2041. Having a clear long-term funding plan for TfL will be critical to this by ensuring we can continue to invest in safety improvements on the TfL road network and on local roads.

The Mayor: We were all saddened by the tragic death of Lucia Ciccioli, and our thoughts remain with her family and friends.
My previous response to question 2020/4248 stated that the analysis has been shared with boroughs. Whilst data on collisions and road risk is shared regularly with all boroughs, this specific analysis on Excess Harm data has not yet been promoted. Transport for London (TfL) will be providing this in the near future in a way that is most helpful for the boroughs to use.
I am committed to continuing to work with all boroughs to actively pursue ambitious proposals to move London closer to my Vision Zero goal for all deaths and serious injuries to be eliminated from London's transport network by 2041. Having a clear long-term funding plan for TfL will be critical to this by ensuring we can continue to invest in safety improvements on the TfL road network and on local roads.

Actions following the death of Lucia Ciccioli (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: In answer to question 2020/4248 you stated that TfL has mapped the CasualtyHarm Rate and Excess Harm data to highlight the most harmful roads and this information is available to the boroughs.
Please state:
When will this data be publiclyavailable?

The Mayor: I understand that this is an experimental methodology and was used in conjunction with an existing framework to prioritise funding for existing schemes. The spatial elements contained within this analysis are derived from Ordnance Survey road link data which Transport for London (TfL) licences but does not own and is therefore unable to release publicly. However, TfL will be releasing the methodology for transparency and to allow other road safety professionals to recreate the research regardless of road geometry.
TfL is committed to improving the understanding of risk (and not just casualty rates) in its publicly available tools and reporting. This is demonstrated by its recently launched Road Danger Reduction Dashboard. TfL engages with the boroughs at all levels to ensure that funding continues to be spent in areas that will deliver the greatest reductions in road risk.

Stalking Protection Orders

Tony Devenish: From 20th January 2020 to 19th January 2021, how many Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) have been issued in London?

The Mayor: During this period, a total of 70 Stalking Protection Orders have been issued in London. 34 of these were Interim Orders and 36 were Full Orders.

London Fire Brigade Appliance Driving Training (1)

Andrew Dismore: How many firefighters are trained to drive appliances?

The Mayor: As of 10 March 2021, there are 1,628 operational staff who hold the ‘Motor Driver’ skill allowing them to drive London Fire Brigade appliances under blue light conditions.

Stalking (3)

Tony Devenish: For each of the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, how many instances of stalking were recorded by the Met, how many involved social media and how many involved ex-partners?

The Mayor: Please see the tables below which provide data on how many instances of stalking were recorded during these years, and how many of these involved ex-partners.
Stalking Offences across the MPS
2018
2019
2020
Total
1883
2282
6631
10796
Stalking Offences with a Victim-Suspect Relationship of Ex-Partner on the Crime Record across the MPS
2018
2019
2020
Total
716
923
3472
5111
It is not possible for the MPS to provide information on the number of offences that involved social media without them reviewing all crime records in full. However, the MPS has always been very clear that there is no distinction between stalking, cyber stalking or cyber-enabled stalking. These are all treated equally seriously. The methods of contact for those who perpetrate stalking behaviour will naturally reflect what means they have available to reach their target.

High-rise training (1)

Andrew Dismore: What work has been undertaken to identify venues for high rise training exercises?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) has partnered with the London Borough of Havering to secure empty buildings awaiting redevelopment to use for training. For example, LB Havering provided an empty 12 storey residential block to use free of charge for four months for training purposes, prior to the site being demolished as part of a Council-led regeneration scheme. The borough is also working with LFB to identify landlords within the borough that might have empty buildings that would be similarly appropriate for Brigade use. LFB is also in conversation withthree further boroughsabout entering a similar partnership.
LFBneedsthe support oflocal authorities across Londontodeliver trainingwhichwill help to keep London’s communities safe and is seeking to get an agreement in place with all boroughs to identifysuitablesites.The Brigade recently metwithLondonCouncilstodiscuss how this could be taken forward.

London Fire Brigade Appliance Driving Training (2)

Andrew Dismore: How many firefighters are expected to be trained in appliance driving during 2021/22?

The Mayor: A total of 200 Emergency Fire Appliance Driver delegate spaces are available in the 2021/22 Training Plan which is expected to be delivered in full.

Planning decision on the Hondo tower application in Lambeth

Siân Berry: There was huge disappointment at your planning decision reference 2020/6774 regarding the Hondo tower in Lambeth, and enormous confusion about how it was made, with the GLA not providing timely information about the decision via local planning officers to local campaigners, leading them to be told they still had time to influence your decision when it had already been made. I have experienced this problem before with information about the planning process not being published on the GLA website in a timely fashion. What are you doing to improve the efficiency and transparency of these processes?

The Mayor: I am sorry that an incorrect template letter was sent to 4 residents informing them that the application had not been referred for my consideration at stage 2.
The senior management team in Planning looked into this issue and identified a procedural error. Therefore I decided to re-run the Stage 2 process and, as you may know, took a fresh decision to call in this application. Steps have been taken to avoid such a mistake happening again.
More widely, a new back office system called Arcus has also been introduced in Planning and I’m confident this will improve the efficiency and transparency of the processes.

TfL’s solar power usage

Susan Hall: As part of your £34m Energy Scheme for Londoners, launched in 2018, has all of the £4.5m allocated to TfL to install energy efficiency measures in their buildings since been spent? How far off are they from providing 1.1MW of electricity per year & in cutting their CO2 emissions by 480 tonnes per year?

The Mayor: The initial value of Transport for London’s (TfL) project to install a combined value of 1.1MW solar PV on its rooftops, and delivered via the GLA’s Retrofit Accelerator Programme, was £4.5 million. This investment was not made from GLA funds but was allocated from within TfL’s own capital funds.
However, as stated in my response to MQ 2020/3371, TfL reprioritised this budget to other areas last year due to the financial pressures caused by loss of fare revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new Train Modification Unit that TfL is establishing in Acton will be completed in 2021, with 200kWp of solar generation capacity. In addition to this, TfL is seeking alternative funding and delivery models to facilitate wider delivery of solar PV and is currently undertaking early market engagement work to gauge the appetite for third-party investment in solar PV on TfL assets.
TfL continues to invest in the energy efficiency of its buildings, for example through LED lighting upgrades to London Underground stations and depots.

Assurance processes

Andrew Dismore: The recent HMICFRS report recommended that the brigade should establish effective assurance processes in order to evidence improvement in operational practice. How are assurance processes being developed in order to meet this recommendation?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is in the process of developing and implementing a Business Assurance Framework (BAF), aligned to the three lines of defence model advocated by HM Treasury. A new approach to risk management provides the foundation for the BAF, which focusses on providing assurance that risks to LFB’s priorities and objectives are being managed effectively. The BAF will enablerisks to the Transformation Delivery Plan, Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) actions to be more effectively recorded in departmental risk registers and escalated to Directorate level or Corporate level risk registers, if necessary.MOPAC and theAudit Committeeestablished by the Commissioner in 2020 to provide further oversight of LFB’s work’.are providing supportto develop and implement the BAF model. The new risk management framework will be in place for the start of Q1, 2021/22 with the BAF model going live from Q2, 2021/22.

London Fire Brigade Control and Incident Command (2)

Andrew Dismore: How is London Fire Brigade promoting and championing joined up working between control and incident command?

The Mayor: The new Fire Survival Guidance (FSG), High Rise and Evacuation and Rescue policies demonstrate London Fire Brigade’s commitment to promoting and joining up all the elements of operational response. The FSG policyin particular hasbeen a joint endeavour betweentheControl and Mobilising, and Operational Policy and Assuranceteamsto ensure it delivers the integrated approach required to bring incidents to a safe resolution. Joint training, exercising and facilities will foster more integrated working relationships and deliver an even better service to London.

GTI phase 1 recommendations

Andrew Dismore: Is the London Fire Brigade on track to complete all of the 17 recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 report it has promised by March 2021?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade expects that 17 of the 29 recommendations (59 per cent) will be completed by the end of March 2021, and 19 by the end of June 2021 (66 per cent).
My monthly report detailing progress against the recommendations can be found here:https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/mayor-london/grenfell-tower-inquiry-mayoral-updates

Response to Recent HMICFRS report

Andrew Dismore: What is your response to the recent HMICFRS inspection of the London Fire Brigade’s progress to implement the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 report?

The Mayor: The Phase 1 report highlighted some serious issues for London Fire Brigade, for fire and rescue services more generally, and the failings in the building itself. The findings from the report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in February reflected the good progress made by London Brigade, noting that there has been “a sustained focus and effort on understanding the lessons from the fire and acting where the inquiry recommended it should.” The Inspectorate was also clear that there is still work for the Brigade to do. Since the HMICFRS inspection on progress was carried out last year, the Brigade has completed two more of the recommendations and the majority of those due for completion by the end of March 2021 remain on track. I remain committed to working with the London Fire Commissioner to ensure the recommendations are implemented as soon as possible.

Counter-Terror Hub (1)

Susan Hall: Further to your £412m investment in a new counter-terror hub, as referenced in your press release in 2018, could you please advise if all of the money has been spent. If so, please provide headline figures showing where and when it was spent.

The Mayor: Further to the press release made in March 2018 announcing a £412m investment to create a new counter-terrorism and organised crime hub in the capital, MOPAC have to date invested £315m* in purchasing a suitable building and undertaking works to upgrade this and associated sites to make them fully secure and fit for purpose. A further £112m will be further spent over the next four years to complete the project.
*The acquisition cost was £250m incurred in March 2018 with the remaining £65m being spent across the three financial years 2018/19-2020/21.

Counter-Terror Hub (2)

Susan Hall: How has your Counter-terror hub streamlined operations & the capabilities of the Met’s counter-terrorism unit?

The Mayor: The Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC) will enable co-location of the London-based elements of Counter Terrorism (CT) Policing, the intelligence agencies, and the criminal justice system, as well as other Government agencies focused on tackling the threat from terrorism.
This new, fully integrated approach will keep the public safer from terrorism by enhancing the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) ability to discover and prevent attacks, improve response speed, and work more efficiently.

Counter-Terror Hub (3)

Susan Hall: How has your counter-terror hub ensured more effective and efficient working in the Met Police, to keep London as safe as possible from the on-going threat of terrorism?

The Mayor: The Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC) enables an integrated, partnership-driven approach within a purpose-built working environment – the CTOC will bring the right people, skills and technology together to help strengthenthe MPS’ability to protect the UK.It will also encourage smarter working practices,cultures, rationalising processes and structures, and boost innovationwith new forms of collaboration.

Counter-Terror Hub (4)

Susan Hall: How has the creation of your counter-terror hub and organised crime hub in the capital enabled the Met Police to deal more effectively with organised crime, cyber-crime & other serious crimes?

The Mayor: The Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC) will enable the police to deal more effectively with terrorism by enhancing the Met’s ability to discover and prevent attacks, improve response speed and work more efficiently.
An integrated partnership approach will bring expertise and capabilities together in one place and streamline operations to ensure more efficient working to keep the capital safe as possible from the constant and evolving threat of terrorism.

Operational Incident on the Tram Network (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please set out the expected completion date of each recommendation made by TfL following the three operational incidents highlighted by TfL’s Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel on the 10 February 2021?

The Mayor: Of the follow up actions detailed in the Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel paper on 10th February 2021, the current status is as follows:
(a) Action 1 – review current arrangements for regulatory reporting. Status: Complete. New reporting procedure is in place and it complies with the current advice with respect to regulatory reporting issued by the Office for Rail & Road (ORR).
(b) Action 2 – review data going back five years to ensure regulatory reporting has been undertaken correctly. Status: Complete. This work has been completed and a submission sent to the ORR.
(c) Action 3 - review the risk model, especially in relation to the Mitcham incident. Status: Complete. A risk review has been undertaken, and the ORR informed. In addition, the full annual review of the risk model has been completed and will be submitted to the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board for peer review.
(d) Action 4 - develop a Joint System Safety Improvement Plan to identify key priority risk areas. Part of this work involves TOL and LT reviewing their Safety Management System. Status: Work is underway and the plan will be submitted to the ORR by 31st March.

Operational Incidents on the Tram Network (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: TfL’s Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel on the 10 February 2021 reports that on 14 September 2020 a tram travelled through Mitcham tram stop at 41km/h, failing to call at the tram stop. The report further states that the full seriousness of the incident was not made clear to TfL until the end of November 2020. What assurances can be provided that the full reporting by TOL to TfL of further incidents immediately occurs?

The Mayor: Following the incident at Mitcham, a new reporting procedure has been introduced which clearly lays out the requirements for the reporting of operational incidents. This includes when such incidents need to be reported to the appropriate regulatory authorities and Transport for London.

Solar Generation and TfL

Leonie Cooper: What assessment has been made of TfL’s eligibility for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and whether this can be used to bring forward the retrofit accelerator scheme for solar energy generation?

The Mayor: I welcome the Government’s invitation for applications to its Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The scheme was designed to target energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation projects, which could be delivered by March 2021 (or at latest September 2021, with bids delivered by the earlier date being considered more favourably). Funding was prioritised on cost per tonne of carbon abated and ability to meet delivery timescales.
TfL submitted two bids for energy efficiency measures across London Underground Stations and Head Office buildings. TfL considered a bid for delivery of solar photovoltaic projects, but discounted this based on it being unfeasible to deliver solar within the funding timeframes, given the stringent design and safety requirements associated with TfL’s operational environment. In addition, Solar PV would not have met the criteria for carbon abatement on its own.
Eligible bids to the fund far exceeded the £1bn on offer and TfL’s funding applications were not selected.

Brexit on London’s coffee shops (1)

Leonie Cooper: What is the impact of the current Brexit deal going to have on London’s coffee shops, particularly in the context of London’s economic recovery?

The Mayor: I recently published an independent study, which estimates London’s economy faces as potential loss of £9.5bn GDP per year as a result of the Brexit withdrawal agreement and trade deal.
It is hard to accurately predict the likely impact of the trade deal with the EU on London’s coffee shops given that since the deal came into effect, they have been closed due to lockdown except for delivery and takeaway. However, it is possible that there will be an impact on the cost of certain products, which coffee shops may have to absorb or pass on to the customer, if they wish to continue using them. Citizens from across the EU have also played an important role in London’s hospitality industry, and I hope they will continue to do so.
The impact of Brexit on London’s economy could not have come at a worse time for London’s coffee shops. It is likely to make our recovery from the pandemic much slower, when after the last year many of these businesses are struggling to survive as a result of social distancing rules.
As I have repeatedly made clear to the Government many Londoners jobs are at risk if the furlough and business rates relief schemes end before these businesses can trade again as normal.

Brexit on London’s coffee shops (2)

Leonie Cooper: Are you lobbying the Government for changes to the current arrangements with the EU for coffee shops?

The Mayor: I am urging the Government to quickly close the gaps in the trade deal for our key export-orientated services sectors; which now face major barriers to doing business in Europe.
If these businesses are prevented from growing and creating jobs here in the capital, it will impact a much wider range of sectors, including London’s hospitality industry.
Hundreds of thousands of businesses, including London’s coffee shops and their suppliers, have been saddled with new trade and immigration rules; with no adequate time to prepare, while the covid pandemic is peaking.
I will continue to do everything I can to help Londoners and these businesses to deal with this challenging new reality. Information on steps to take can be found on my Business Hub athttps://www.businesshub.london/.

Brexit on London’s Restaurants (1)

Leonie Cooper: What is the impact of the current Brexit deal going to have on London’s restaurants, particularly in the context of London’s economic recovery?

The Mayor: I recently published an independent study, which estimates London’s economy faces as potential loss of £9.5bn GDP per year as a result of the Brexit withdrawal agreement and trade deal.
It is hard to accurately predict the likely impact of the trade deal with the EU on London’s restaurants given that since the deal came into effect, they have been closed due to lockdown except for delivery and takeaway. However, it is possible that there will be an impact on the cost of certain foods, which restaurants may have to absorb or pass on to the customer, if they wish to continue using them. Citizens from across the EU have also played an important role in London’s restaurant industry, and I hope they will continue to do so.
The impact of Brexit on the economy could not have come at a worse time for the hospitality industry. It is likely to make our recovery from the pandemic much slower, when after the last year many of these businesses are struggling to survive as a result of social distancing rules.
As I have repeatedly made clear to the Government many Londoners jobs are at risk if the furlough and business rates relief schemes end before these businesses can trade again as normal.

Brexit on London’s Restaurants (2)

Leonie Cooper: Are you lobbying the Government for changes to the current arrangements with the EU for restaurants?

The Mayor: I am urging the Government to quickly close the gaps in the trade deal for our key export-orientated services sectors; which now face major barriers to doing business in Europe.
If these businesses are prevented from growing and creating jobs here in the capital, it will impact a much wider range of sectors, including London’s hospitality industry.
Hundreds of thousands of businesses, including London’s restaurants and their suppliers, have been saddled with new trade and immigration rules; with no adequate time to prepare, while the covid pandemic is peaking.
I will continue to do everything I can to help Londoners and these businesses to deal with this challenging new reality. Information on steps to take can be found on my Business Hub athttps://www.businesshub.london/.

Sustrans and TfL

Susan Hall: Please provide the Assembly with details of all TfL contracts with Sustrans since May 2016, including the date each contract was signed, what each contract required Sustrans to do, how much Sustrans was paid to do it and either the date at which the work was completed or, if the work is ongoing, when TfL expect it to be complete.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has awarded three contracts to Sustrans since May 2016 as set out below.
Bike It Plus
Contract Awarded 11/08/2016
Contract Value; £400,000
Contract expiry: 31/07/2017
This contract was put in place to deliver the Bike It Plus programme in 14 boroughs and to roll out the programme to new schools within these boroughs, with the aim of increasing levels of cycling in young people, specifically when they transition from primary to secondary school. The funding created 7 Bike It officer posts, supporting 81 schools and delivering over 3,000 cycle related activities such as Bikeability training, bike repair sessions, assemblies on safer cycling and mapping journeys to secondary school.
Bike it Plus
Contract Awarded 23/08/2017
Contract Value; £100,000
Contract expiry: 31/07/2018
This contract was put in place to support the continuation of the 16/17 Bike It Plus programme in 7 boroughs. Funding was used to employ half a Bike It Officer to deliver cycling services to schools and pilot a new multi-modal form of engagement in three boroughs.
Healthy Streets Officers
Contract Awarded 6/08/2019
Contract Value at Award: £3,700,000
Contract expiry: 06/08/2021 with an option to extend to 06/08/2022
This contract is for the provision of Healthy Streets Officers who liaise with boroughs and schools in order to promote and help deliver my healthy living initiatives. Priorities include:
This year the Healthy Streets Officers will also be supporting TfL’s activities to get Londoners back on public transport when it is safe to do so, road danger reduction and the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in October 2021.

London Fire Brigade carbon reduction strategy

Caroline Russell: Providing switches to disable automatic heating at Greater London Authority (GLA) operated buildings is a good way to reduce carbon. The London Fire Commissioner (LFC) Andy Roe has written to the Budget & Performance Committee on 10 January 2021 saying that budget savings mean no further controls will be installed, even though only one site of eight has completed their trial. Are you concerned that investigation of and investment in carbon reduction measures are being compromised by reduced budgets?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade has installed eight ‘switch off controls’ across its estate. A decision has been taken not to roll this out further as the trial has indicated that these local controls are unlikely to achieve the estimated carbon saving. The use of automatic controls through the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) is expected to have a much greater impact. This controls 70 per cent of the carbon producing equipment. Optimising its use is estimated to result in a minimum of 20 per cent carbon reduction.

TfL PR (2)

Shaun Bailey: How much money has TFL spent on PR/public affairs companies in the 2019/20 year? Please also provide details of what this money was used for and which PR/public affairs companies were used.

The Mayor: Please see my answer to MQ2020/4696.

TfL PR (1)

Shaun Bailey: How much money has TfL spent on PR/public affairs companies over the past 5 years, broken down by year? Please also provide details of what this money was used for and which PR/public affairs companies were/are used?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not use agencies for PR or public affairs work. The only exception is the Art on the Underground programme, which contracts a specialist Arts PR support agency to communicate the programme to the widest possible audience. Art on the Underground’s work is part-funded by external sources, including commercial sponsorship, grants and sales income from selling limited editions prints and books online as well as other products such as artist designed tiles through specialist retailers. Annual income varies but, over the period, more income has been generated than the cost of this support.
In addition, over the period TfL’s Property Development programme contracted an agency to conduct specialist local community engagement to support the delivery of much needed new, affordable homes on TfL land.
Please see Mayor’s Question https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/0496 which covers the years from 2014 to 2018. The spend for the remaining part of 2018/19 and 2019/20 and 2020/2021 is shown below:
Company
Services Procured
2018/2019
From Jan 2019
2019/2020
2020/2021
Sutton PR Ltd
Art specialist PR
£10,080
£30,300
£25,000
Newington,
Portland,
Kanda
Commercial Development support
£14,147
£89,719
£72,166

Emissions-Reducing Fuel Additive

Keith Prince: Will you meet with me to consider trials of a fuel additive that has the potential to significantly reduce emissions from road vehicles in London, and which could also have applications on river traffic, helping you achieve your emissions reduction goals?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does monitor new technologies such as fuel additives from time to time as they appear. Results for fuel additives vary and are sometimes inconclusive. It would be helpful if details of this particular additive product could be provided to so that the technical specialists at TfL can appraise the merits of it and consider how a trial might be beneficial.
In particular, it would be helpful to understand which engine emissions are affected and levels of reductions that have been shown in testing. Other considerations are compatibility with exhaust catalysts and consequential emissions. TfL can consider a meeting once this background information is to hand.

Cleaner Buses (1)

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor update on how many electric and hybrid buses he has put into service, since May 2016, in:
Merton?


Wandsworth?

The Mayor: Over the last five years, significant improvements have been made to the entire bus fleet across London. Following an upgrade and vehicle replacement programme, 100 per cent of the core bus fleet across all boroughs, including Merton and Wandsworth, meets the ultra-clean Euro VI engine emission standard or better,.
Since May 2016, around 50 hybrid buses have entered service in Merton, and around 29 new electric buses will join the fleet later this year. Over the same period in Wandsworth, around 180 hybrid buses and 20 electric buses entered service. This will be followed by 38 new electric buses joining the fleet later this year.

Projects supported by TfL’s Strategic Energy Advisor

Leonie Cooper: Please list all projects where Baringa Partners are supporting Transport for London as part of their role as Strategic Energy Advisor to TfL.

The Mayor: I am aware that following a competitive recruitment process Baringa Partners were engaged by Transport for London (TfL) in 2020 to advise on the development of a strategy to procure 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030. This work was completed in September 2020. For more information on TfL’s progress on renewable energy purchasing please refer to 2021/1035.

Waking Watches in London’s Boroughs

Andrew Dismore: Please provide a borough-by-borough breakdown of the number of buildings operating waking watches in London. Please also breakdown the numbers for buildings over 18m and under 18m in each borough.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of ‘stay put’ where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place. Residential buildings operating a waking watch or evacuation management system could be in the form of personnel on site or a remote monitoring system,to be determined by the Responsible Person with guidancefroma competent fire safety professional. The figures can changeon a daily basiswhen interim measures are required, or the building is remediated and no longer requires the interim measures. The number of buildings where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, asat14 March 2021, are presented by borough and by height in the table below.
Local Authority
Total blocks
Over 18 metres
Under 18 metres
Barking and Dagenham
17
14
3
Barnet
12
9
3
Bexley
3
3
0
Brent
41
29
12
Bromley
4
2
2
Camden
23
20
3
City of London
1
1
0
Croydon
30
19
11
Ealing
15
11
4
Enfield
0
0
0
Greenwich
61
55
6
Hackney
60
50
10
Hammersmith and Fulham
10
8
2
Haringey
13
7
6
Harrow
2
2
0
Havering
8
8
0
Hillingdon
8
7
1
Hounslow
17
14
3
Islington
46
38
8
Kensington and Chelsea
14
9
5
Kingston upon Thames
4
4
0
Lambeth
26
18
8
Lewisham
32
28
4
Merton
4
3
1
Newham
33
30
3
Redbridge
6
4
2
Richmond
0
0
0
Southwark
60
49
11
Sutton
3
3
0
Tower Hamlets
126
122
4
Waltham Forest
9
9
0
Wandsworth
30
29
1
Westminster
32
30
2
Total
750
635
115

London Fire Brigade ‘camp out’ bases

Andrew Dismore: What is the present policy about and availability of ‘camp out’ bases for London Fire Brigade officers who live outside London, when on call or on duty?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) central rota group is responsible for the overarching view of the six campout bases within the LFB estate. This is managed byarota manager whoallocatescampout roomsaccordingto anofficer’s working location, room availability and the Brigade cover map to ensure that staff are within attendance times. At the present time, LFB has availability to provide campout bases to officers that live outside of the London response area when on callin order toprovide operational cover.

Section 35 Dispersal Orders

Peter Whittle: To ask the Mayor how many Section 35 Dispersal Orders were issued in the Metropolitan Police District over the last three years and to tabulate your response by borough.

The Mayor: Please see the requested data within the table below.
The addition of the flag on an information report is not mandatory and therefore the number shown below is not an accurate reflection of numbers of dispersal authorities in the MPS, but reflects those reports where the flag was used.
Borough
2018
2019
2020
Barking and Dagenham
16
74
62
Barnet
2
1
1
Bexley
0
2
0
Brent
25
4
4
Bromley
1
1
2
Camden
142
94
78
Croydon
3
5
3
Ealing
2
3
4
Enfield
2
1
2
Greenwich
0
1
0
Hackney
15
29
36
Haringey
4
5
3
Harrow
10
5
6
Havering
372
335
102
Hillingdon
2
1
0
Islington
13
36
23
Kensington and Chelsea
2
5
4
Lambeth
134
36
15
Lewisham
1
0
2
Merton
1
0
0
Newham
2
17
15
Redbridge
11
20
4
Southwark
2
8
4
Sutton
0
2
1
Tower Hamlets
2
0
4
Waltham Forest
13
38
11
Wandsworth
14
0
0
Westminster
22
16
32
MPS
813
739
418

Pave The Way report by Transport for All

Caroline Pidgeon: Please set out TfL’s planned response to each recommendation relating to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods made in the report Pave The Way produced by the organisation Transport for All?

The Mayor: My Deputy Mayor for Transport and Walking and Cycling Commissioner recently met with Transport for All (TfA) to discuss the report. I understand that senior officers at Transport for London (TfL) have also met with TfA and will be providing a response to the report in the coming weeks

Housing completions (1)

Andrew Boff: Of the GLA-funded affordable homes started since 2017/18, how many have been completed to date? Please provide a breakdown by borough and number of bedrooms.

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of homes from projects that started and completed between April 2017 and September 2020. To note, the collection of bedroom number information is not mandatory and therefore the details below only include projects where the bedroom breakdown is available.
Total
12,197
3,823
4,576
2,140
382
59
Location
Affordable Starts that have completed 
Project has started and completed from April 2017 to Sept 2020
Completed homes
Studio/1 bed
2 bed
3 bed
4 bed
5+ beds
Barking and Dagenham
198
39
117
10
0
0
Barnet
620
240
261
87
16
0
Bexley
265
34
113
97
7
0
Brent
453
166
198
72
7
0
Bromley
368
159
157
41
3
0
Camden
200
77
52
50
5
0
City of London
12
10
0
0
0
0
Croydon
564
186
214
93
11
0
Ealing
720
203
301
138
27
0
Enfield
327
105
126
39
10
0
Greenwich
588
204
214
125
5
0
Hackney
301
88
137
48
5
0
Hammersmith and Fulham
306
94
137
42
4
0
Haringey
96
34
39
15
0
0
Harrow
125
31
63
22
3
0
Havering
6
0
0
1
1
0
Hillingdon
215
69
110
13
4
0
Hounslow
364
125
160
44
1
0
Islington
485
150
162
72
44
31
Kensington and Chelsea
192
60
52
11
7
0
Kingston Upon Thames
100
46
24
15
5
0
Lambeth
518
194
162
72
3
0
Lewisham
475
161
159
86
26
4
Merton
206
48
112
26
6
4
Newham
436
163
113
114
3
0
Redbridge
98
34
41
17
0
0
Richmond upon Thames
25
8
12
0
0
0
Southwark
862
277
350
130
28
0
Sutton
232
64
100
50
4
0
Tower Hamlets
1,612
529
480
457
100
20
Various / across boroughs
153
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Waltham Forest
225
16
60
22
10
0
Wandsworth
535
153
250
80
30
0
Westminster
315
56
100
51
7
0

Collapsed Behind Locked Doors

Steve O'Connell: In May 2020, a new pilot scheme was launched across four Met BCUs, enabling colleagues from London’s Fire Brigade (LFB) to assist the London Ambulance Service (LAS) for ‘collapsed behind locked doors’. For each of the BCUs involved, how many times has this been done?

The Mayor: In May 2020 the MPS in partnership with LFB and LAS commenced a trial in relation to calls to “Collapsed Behind Locked Doors”. The initial trial involved the North East BCU and was evaluated in September 2020. The trial moved to a London wide footing on the 1st Feb 2021 and will be subject to further benefits analysis in the near future.
During the trial period the LAS contacted the LFB 202 times to seek support in these incidents. Previously these incidents would have been routed through MetCC and may have resulted in Police Officer deployments. But with the LAS contacting the LFB directly this has ensured a quick response and positive outcomes for patient care.

NHS patients being reimbursed for the Ultra Low Emission Zone charge

Caroline Pidgeon: Will the current reimbursement scheme for NHS patients of the ULEZ charge be extended to match the extension of the ULEZ from the 25 October 2021?

The Mayor: I recognise that some NHS patients may have a greater need to travel to hospital by car where they have been clinically assessed as being too ill, weak or disabled to use public transport. This is why both the Congestion Charge and central London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) have reimbursement arrangements for NHS patients, which will remain in place when the ULEZ expands to inner London on the 25 October 2021.

Firefighter location

Shaun Bailey: How many LFB firefighters live within the Greater London area, and how many live outside of London?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade Operational Staff by home address location as of 9 March 2021.
Inside Greater London
Outside Greater London
Total Staff
Total Operational Staff
2052
2748
4800

Transport Network Safety

Murad Qureshi: What has been the extra cost of cleaning the transport network in order to keep staff and passengers safe from Covid-19? Can you also provide any estimated extra costs for 2021/22 and break down by mode?

The Mayor: From the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, Transport for London’s (TfL) absolute priority has been to keep staff and passengers safe. TfL has adopted a range of advanced cleaning techniques to reduce the risk posed by the coronavirus, for example using new hospital-grade cleaning substances and piloting new technology such as UV light sanitising units on handrails at London Underground stations. TfL has also commissioned Imperial College to undertake regular sampling of the transport network to identify any contamination by coronavirus.All sampling to date has returned negative results for any traces of the virus.
TfL has no plans to change the enhanced cleaning regime at the current time, but will keep the situation under review, taking into account the public health situation and any guidance from the Government and Public Health England.
TfL has provided the breakdown below. Please note that the figures for the 2020/21 financial year are subject to change as we have not yet reached the end of this financial year.
Transport area
Additional spend 2020/21
Expected additional spend 2021/22
London Underground
£1.3m
Additional £0.5m installation of UV Handrail cleaner on escalators
£1.6m
Additional £1m installation of UV Handrail cleaner on escalators
Bus Network Assets incl. VCS
£0.5m
£0.5m
Dial a ride
£0.015m
£0.5m
River and Woolwich Ferry
£0.01m
£0.01m
Rail & Sponsored Services (London Overground, DLR, Cycle Hire, Trams)
£1.4m
To be confirmed for DLR and Cycle Hire
London Overground £0.9m
Trams £0.02m (estimate)
Bus operations*
£8.8m
£8.7m
*Bus operations note

Northern line extension

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor update me on the Northern line extension and when it will be complete?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is continuing to make good progress on the Northern Line Extension. TfL is now focused on ensuring the signalling software and systems are ready, along with completing the final stages of fit-out of the two new stations, Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, and landscaping at the Kennington sites. Trial operations are on track to start in the summer of this year, ahead of the planned opening of the extension in the autumn

National File Quality Standards

Steve O'Connell: What is the Met's National File Quality Standards file failure rate for 2020?

The Mayor: The MPS File Quality Standard average for 2020 was 48.4%, however National File Quality Assessment performance is subject to significant volatility. A number of police forces, including the MPS, have provided feedback to CPS outlining concerns over the volatility and consistent application of the assessment process. It was recently announced that the production of National File Quality data is being suspended whilst a review is undertaken.

Police Overtime

Steve O'Connell: For each year, 2018, 2019 and 2020, how much has been spent on police overtime?

The Mayor: MPS
17/18
18/19
19/20
Police Officer - Overtime
107,722,985
114,543,410
141,467,061

Census 2021

Murad Qureshi: With the Census 2021 scheduled on the 21st of March this year when will the results be published and what effect, if any, will they have on your London Plan?

The Mayor: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) who conduct the Census have not yet published a timetable for outputs. A draft timetable is planned for June 2021, but ONS have already said they aim to release census-based local authority estimates in March 2022, and all other data by March 2023.
Whilst the findings of the Census will provide a rich and detailed evidence base for the future of London, they will not have an impact on implementation of my new London Plan.
Firstly, Census may show that London’s population growth has slowed or even reversed, but the backlog of housing need - particularly affordable housing – means the 10-year housing targets and the Plan’s ambitious strategy for building quality, affordable, energy efficient homes remain relevant. Secondly, my London Plan is forward looking and advanced in its policy approaches in areas such as falling vehicle ownership, inequalities, public health and the need for a strong economy and job creation.
It is critical that the Government now supports its rhetoric around building homes that people need and commits to the necessary funding for affordable housing, transport and other infrastructure.

Mental Health Support

Leonie Cooper: What is the Mayor doing to help residents in Merton and Wandsworth with their mental health during this tough time in Lockdown? Has there been any more help provided for young people and school children who are suffering the most?

The Mayor: There is a great deal happening across the city to support the mental health of Londoners, including for children and young people. My Healthy Early Years and Healthy Schools programmes work with both Merton and Wandsworth Local Authorities helping schools to support pupil mental health and wellbeing. 83% of Wandsworth’s and 89% of Merton’s schools are registered with Healthy Schools London.
Youth Mental Health First Aid training continues to be rolled out in schools, and the Schools Mental Health Toolkit is regularly updated, linking up support from Thrive LDN, Good Thinking and others. Among their range of programmes, Thrive LDN have partnered with S.M.I.L.E-ing boys to deliver tailored workshops to schools in Wandsworth.
Further, the Wandle Early Years Hub, which I established in 2018, has continued to support early education providers and families across Wandsworth and Merton throughout the pandemic. This has included an increased focus on social emotional mental health support for children.

Victims with insecure immigration status

Unmesh Desai: In response to question 2020/1947 you advised that the Met Police are unable to say how many illegal immigrants they have reported to the Home Office in each of the last 4 years due to being unable to “extract this information because there is no flag on stop and search, CRIS, or custody which would show any type of referral.” The Met’s own guidance on vulnerable victims and witnesses with insecure immigration status states when “it becomes apparent that the victim/witness is also suspected of being an illegal immigrant, it is wholly appropriate that the officer in the case should contact Immigration Enforcement”. Has finding a way to record this information been explored by the Met? Would it require changes to the Police National Computer to do so?

The Mayor: The MPS does not centrally record contact made with the Immigration Enforcement Team or the National Immigration Command and Control Unit. The situations in which MPS officers/staff would contact Immigration Enforcement are diverse and methods of collating information on this have not been explored. Collation of meaningful data would require the creation of a bespoke database, which is not presently planned. Should the MPS decide to record this information in the future, no changes to the Police National Computer would be required.
You may wish to enquire with the Home Office on whether they hold data on how many immigration offences have been detected as a result of information shared by the MPS.

23m van scrappage fund (1)

Susan Hall: Has all of your £23m van scrappage funding been allocated? Please provide headline figures detailing when and where it was spent.

The Mayor: I have allocated £48m for scrappage schemes which support low income and disabled Londoners, small businesses and charities to switch to cleaner vehicles and greener forms of transport.To date, the ScrappageSchemefor vans and minibuseshas supportedthescrapping of over 4,700 vehicles, helping small businesses and charitiesprepare for theUltra LowEmission Zone.
To date, £31.5m has been paid out in van scrappage payments with another £0.5m currently committed in accepted applications.
The scheme was suspended to van owners on 28 August 2020 due to unprecedented demand and limited funding. Eligible charities may still apply for the grant, given their vital role in our communities, especially during the current pandemic.
For information about the additional funding provided for the scrappage schemes see response to 2021/1343.

Streetspace Schemes/Cost

Shaun Bailey: Please list a breakdown of all Streetspace schemes as well as the cost for each one?

The Mayor: Please find a breakdown of 2020-21 schemes attached.
2020-21
Led by
Programme
H1
H2
Grand Total
TFL
Strategic Cycling
4,558,364
3,630,000
8,188,364
Social Distancing
2,950,494
2,950,494
Central London Plan
960,468
234,000
1,194,468
Bus Lane Hours
374,901
374,901
Cycle Hire Stations
267,629
148,543
416,172
Signals
263,684
263,684
H1 Scheme Enhancements
1,089,850
1,089,850
Green Man Authority
324,087
324,087
LSP Monitoring
1,052,307
1,052,307
LSP Cycling & Social Distancing review
140,000
140,000
TFL Total
9,375,540
6,618,787
15,994,327
Borough
Strategic Cycling
17,228,918
4,136,620
21,365,538
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and School Streets
11,200,405
2,126,744
13,327,149
Social Distancing
3,506,913
3,506,913
Central London Plan
253,000
100,000
353,000
Borough Total
32,189,236
6,363,364
38,552,600
Grand Total
41,564,776
12,982,151
54,546,927

Police National Computer data loss

Unmesh Desai: What impact has the Home Office’s reported loss of 400,000 records from the Police National Computer had on the work of the Met? Please provide details of how many officers have been assigned to work on dealing with this issue

The Mayor: The MPS response to the Police National Computer data loss is being led by Commander Jon Savell, who chairs a dedicated gold group to allow the extent of the impact on the MPS to be understood. The MPS is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Home Office in response to this incident. I am not able at this stage to provide detail on how many officers are assigned to this work.

23m van scrappage scheme (2)

Susan Hall: How many London microbusinesses & charities have applied for the “scrap for cash scheme”, since the launch of your £23m van scrappage fund?

The Mayor: Transport for London has received a total of 18,094 van scrappage applications. Of these, 4,845 have been accepted and 4,168 of have completed their application and progressed to payment. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of applications by business type.

Improvements in Air Quality Clapham Junction (1)

Leonie Cooper: Could you give the date on which Clapham Junction broke legal limits on air quality in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?

The Mayor: There is one air pollution monitoring station near Clapham Junction, Lavender Hill (Clapham Jct). It is a roadside site measuring NOx, NO2 and PM10. As outlined below, it has been in compliance with all legal limits since 2019.

Thames policing

Steve O'Connell: For each year 2018, 2019 and 2020, how many times were the police called to boats on the Thames and how many arrests were made?

The Mayor: The Marine Policing Unit (MPU) record of attendances at vessels and arrests is shown in the table below. If the MPU attends to support another branch of the MPS, that unit would generally make any arrest and deal with subsequent investigations. There is currently no code for MPU attendance to support other MPS branches on the MPS call recording system and therefore such deployments are not reflected in the table.
In addition, it is important to note that there are many tasks the MPU regularly perform which are not captured in the data shown, such as searches for missing persons, rescuing people in the river and safeguarding checks.
Vessel Attendance
Arrests
2018
89
4
2019
113
10
2020
95
3

Improvements in Air Quality Tooting Broadway (2)

Leonie Cooper: What is the situation in 2021? Has Tooting Broadway exceeded legal limits yet?

The Mayor: In 2021 so far (up to 18 March), the monitoring station near Tooting Broadway has not recorded an hour over the hourly limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of 200ugm-3.
Full details of monitoring data between 2017 and 2020, and applicable limit values for NO2 and PM10 are included in response to Question No: 2020/1051.

ULEZ Extension Advertising (1)

Keith Prince: In total and broken down by month, how much has City Hall and Transport for London spent advertising the extension of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in October 2021?

The Mayor: The public information campaign to raise awareness of the forthcoming expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) launched on 5 October 2020. During the period October 2020 - November 2020, Transport for London (TfL) has spent £406,168.65 on an extensive multi-channel advertising campaign to prepare Londoners and drivers for the expansion of the central London Ultra Low Emission Zone from 25 October 2021.
This spend by month is broken down as follows:
Oct 2020
Nov 2020
Dec 2020
Jan 2021
Feb 2021
March 2021
£274,092.46
£132,076.19
£60,175.20
£277,216.19
£285,734.95
£65,695.01
In addition to paid media, advertising messages have run on posters across the public transport network and at key roadside locations within London. While TfL will not be paying to access this additional media, its value will be £1.35m.

ULEZ Extension Advertising (2)

Keith Prince: How much does City Hall and TfL plan to spend for each subsequent months to inform Londoners about the change?

The Mayor: During the period December 2020 - March 2021, Transport for London (TfL) has spent £623,126.34 between December 2020 - February 2021, and is planning to spend a further £65,695.01 in March 2021 on an extensive multi-channel advertising campaign to prepare Londoners and drivers for the expansion of the central London Ultra Low Emission Zone to the North and South Circular roads from 25 October 2021. This total is broken down by month in the table below.
Oct 2020
Nov 2020
Dec 2020
Jan 2021
Feb 2021
March 2021
£274,092.46
£132,076.19
£60,175.20
£277,216.19
£285,734.95
£65,695.01
In addition to paid media, advertising messages are running on posters across the public transport network and at key roadside locations within London. While TfL will not be paying to access this additional media, its value is £908,000.
TfL is currently planning its 2021/22 budgets. This will include significant advertising on this campaign, supported by the use of owned assets, use of the TfL customer database and stakeholder engagement.

Cycleways

Keith Prince: Since 2016, how much have you spent on cycling highways and other facilities in the Capital?

The Mayor: Since 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has invested £577m on cycling highways and cycling facilities in London. This year, TfL’s record level of revenue in the Cycle Hire scheme has contributed to a reduction in net costs. Moreover, innovative delivery methods in cycling programmes have delivered a large number of cycling kilometres efficiently.

Cleaner energy for TfL buildings

Susan Hall: As a benefit of your 2018 £34m Energy Scheme for Londoners, are TfL buildings still being powered by locally generated cleaner energy, purchased by City Hall? Is this set to continue?

The Mayor: No, TfL buildings are no longer being supplied by locally generated decentralised energy through our Electricity Supply Licence Lite. Licence Lite was a 12-month pilot which ended in 2019.
TfL has made good progress in devising and agreeing its strategy to transition to renewable energy via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to enable the goal of running a zero carbon railway by 2030. During 2021, TfL will go to market for 20 per cent of its electricity supply to be sourced directly from renewable energy. The first of these contracts has a target supply date of March 2022 and the second during the financial year 2023/24. Together, these contracts will represent a major step towards meeting my ambition for TfL controlled rail services to be zero carbon by 2030. This is being looked at as part of the Mayor’s GLA Group PPA programme which is actively developing plans to switch to renewables including options for an innovative financing solution that would fund new renewable assets. The aim is to deliver a GLA group-wide approach to renewables that will be trialled in conjunction with TfL’s second PPA procurement in the summer.

Home Office Furniture

Susan Hall: Could the Mayor state how many staff have taken up the offer of funding for home office equipment to support them working from home from January - December 2020?

The Mayor: 760 GLA staff members utilised the offer to claim up to £250 towards home office equipment, up to the end of December 2020.

Additional Payments

Susan Hall: Could the Mayor state how much has been spent on discretionary payments to staff broken down per department from May 2016 to date?

The Mayor: Discretionary payments can be awarded to GLA staff via acting up allowances, honoraria and recognition payments. The policy on such payments was amended in June 2020 and sets out the circumstances in which each type of payment can be applied:
Acting up allowances are payable when an employee is taking on responsibilities at a higher level for a temporary period. Allowances are paid with monthly salary payments and the level of payment takes account of the difference between the employee’s existing job and their new responsibilities.
Honoraria are one-off payments to recognise temporary additional work outside an employee’s usual job. This work may not fall within an existing role description. An assessment is made of the level of higher responsibility involved, and the proportion of time an employee spends on this higher-level work.
Recognition payments reward exceptional performance. Payment relates to the way in which somebody carries out their role as well as what they do. There are four levels of payment under the recognition payment scheme, with the lowest set at £350 and the highest set at £1500.
A summary of the payments awarded, by directorate, from 2016 is set out below in calendar years. This information is presented in line with the directorate structure in place within each calendar year, reflecting the current structure, implemented in January 2019 from that point onwards. Payments are funded through local staffing budgets.
Acting Up Allowances (by calendar year)
Directorate
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Assembly Secretariat
£24,385.40
£8,262.00
Chief Officer
£3,796.92
£6,460.20
Communities and Intelligence
£8,056.88
£19,793.80
£32,607.60
£31,343.00
Communities and Skills
£36,592.50
Development, Enterprise and Environment
£3,485.00
£19,540.00
£104,767.34
£101,497.90
Good Growth
£99,356.60
Housing and Land
£7,894.00
£37,628.30
£61,327.86
£78,685.60
£29,923.00
Mayor's Office
£5,193.66
£24,811.02
Resources
£11,280.63
£4,058.00
£32,079.00
Strategy and Communications
£49,030.25
Total
£35,910.17
£81,020.10
£198,702.80
£271,787.82
£254,435.57
Honoraria (by calendar year)
Directorate
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Assembly Secretariat
£12,114.00
£38,335.01
£24,894.12
£17,772.96
£15,213.80
Chief Officer
Communities and Intelligence
£18,724.67
£84,669.03
£131,661.91
£134,876.70
Communities and Skills
£31,263.80
Development, Enterprise and Environment
£5,814.00
£77,277.29
£110,594.36
£192,108.94
Good Growth
£223,113.87
Housing and Land
£18,803.00
£30,050.10
£57,631.94
£37,282.84
£16,672.96
Mayor's Office
£2,190.00
£10,041.00
£9,068.00
£47,961.80
Resources
£18,748.00
£47,160.92
£22,164.00
£21,352.10
£14,071.00
Strategy and Communications
£39,758.00
Total
£74,203.67
£279,682.35
£356,987.33
£412,461.54
£388,055.23
Recognition payments (by calendar year)
Directorate
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Assembly Secretariat
£2,247.00
£3,150.40
Chief Officer
£1,650.00
£4,200.00
Communities and Intelligence
£8,208.60
£5,047.90
£11,373.35
Communities and Skills
£30,550.00
Development, Enterprise and Environment
£8,816.20
£18,449.10
£26,758.42
£7,250.00
Good Growth
£44,612.35
Housing and Land
£5,583.00
£13,900.00
Mayor's Office
£14,765.00
£10,300.00
Resources
£7,459.00
£5,005.44
£1,500.00
£4,550.00
Strategy and Communications
£33,300.00
Grand Total
£8,816.20
£54,464.70
£39,058.76
£21,773.35
£144,562.75

Immigration enforcement hotline

Unmesh Desai: In response to question 2021/0845 you advised “The MPS does not make referrals to CrimeStoppers”. Within the report Safe to Share?, conducted by HMICFRS, the IOPC and the College of Policing into Southall Black Sisters and Liberty’s super complaint on policing and immigration status, it is noted that “The police may also pass information to the Home Office through the Immigration Enforcement Hotline, a service managed by the independent UK charity Crimestoppers. In 2018, the police made 2,853 reports through this service, accounting for just over 4 percent of the total reports that the hotline received”.
If possible, I would like to be provided with details of how many reports the Metropolitan Police made through this service in each of the last 4 calendar years. If the Met do not currently record this information, please can you begin to do so?

The Mayor: As reflected in the response to question 2021/0845, the MPS do not routinely make referrals to the Immigration Enforcement Hotline.
The MPS share information by contacting the Home Office National Immigration Command and Control Unit (NCCU) via a 24/7 telephone number.
Should officers decide to use the Immigration Enforcement Hotline / CrimeStoppers, this is advertised by Gov.UK as an anonymous service. The MPS would have no knowledge of and therefore no process by which to record these referrals.

Home Office Equipment

Susan Hall: Could the Mayor state how much money has been spent on funding home office equipment to support staff working from home from January - December 2020?

The Mayor: £163,319 was spent funding the claims made for home office equipment by staff, up to December 2020. This equates to an average claim of £216.21.

Firefighter safety

Andrew Dismore: Following the recent attack on a firefighter attending a fire, is there a need for additional safety measures to protect London’s firefighters?

The Mayor: All emergency service workers should be safe at work and the attack on a firefighter was deplorable. London Fire Brigade (LFB) has in place a range of general precautions for the management of violence toward staff that include crews remaining together, keeping communication lines open, withdrawing to a place of safety - which can include the fire appliance cab as it is lockable and fitted with anti-bandit glass - and requesting police assistance. All instances of violence toward staff are required to be reported and investigated. Additionally, it is Brigade policy to report instances of violence toward staff to the police for them to investigate and take appropriate action.

Digital Training for New and Existing Met Officers

Caroline Pidgeon: What investment is being made by the Met in digital training for new and existing officers, particularly given the huge rise we have seen in online hate and extremism in recent years and with the new responsibilities that are likely to be placed on the police in the Online Harms Bill?

The Mayor: In 2019, the MPS commissioned the ‘Improving Digital Investigation Project’ to upskill officers, enabling them to better recognise and exploit digital investigative leads.
Starting from January 2021, student constables on the new recruit pathways receive support that focuses on digital & online policing. A Lead Responsible Officer for Digital Investigation will also work with national partners to ensure digital investigation is adequately represented in corporate training pathways.
Specialist MPS officers in Forensics and Intelligence are building digital investigation training modules and a cloud-based App to provide frontline officers with immediate access to digital investigative training and support.
In addition, as part of the officer uplift programme for 2021/22, the project is also reviewing options for officers to be trained as Digital Media Investigators, a nationally accredited role

Blue Badge Holders (2)

Keith Prince: Can you provide the same 'reasonable adjustments' to disabled Blue Badge holders for the expanded ULEZ zone that you currently provide for the congestion charging zone in London?

The Mayor: Blue Badge holders receive a 100 per cent discount to the Congestion Charge in recognition of the fact they may be dependent on using a private vehicle and therefore cannot avoid the Congestion Charge. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) only charges vehicles that do not meet the minimum emission standards, and four out of five vehicles seen in the expanded ULEZ zone are already compliant. Moreover, drivers of vehicles with a disabled or disabled passenger vehicle tax class will have until October 2025 to meet the ULEZ standards, as these vehicles have often been modified for use by disabled people and so are more difficult to replace.
Blue Badge holders do not receive a discount for ULEZ because while Blue Badge holders may need to use a private vehicle, they do have a choice over using or nominating a ULEZ-compliant vehicle. Nearly all petrol vehicles from 2005 are compliant with the ULEZ standards meaning there are affordable second-hand options available. Blue Badge holders may also be eligible to apply for my ULEZ Car and Motorcycle Scrappage Scheme, if they wish to scrap a non-compliant vehicle. They may use the grant to help purchase a compliant one. This scheme is open to Londoners who receive certain means-tested benefits or non-means tested disability benefits. Further information can be found here: www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/car-and-motorcycle-scrappage-scheme

Santander Cycle Stations

Leonie Cooper: Are there any plans to extend the Santander cycle docking station further south or west?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is always keen to explore opportunities to extend the Santander Cycles scheme. Since 2016, TfL has delivered 40 new locations across 10 boroughs, including expansions to new areas such as Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Brixton, Bermondsey and Clapham.
TfL is continually reviewing opportunities to help make active travel more accessible and deliver the maximum benefit for Londoners and Santander Cycles users. Work is ongoing to assess areas of London where the Santander Cycles scheme could help towards this, but now more than ever, TfL must consider the affordability of the schemes it delivers to ensure they are sustainable. TfL is keen to work together with its borough partners to identify these areas and any funding opportunities available to help deliver them.

Challenges of Electric Transport

Tony Devenish: Do you believe there will come a time when TfL will need to actively encourage more road traffic once the "step change" to electric transport occurs in order to keep London moving?

The Mayor: My ambition is for London to be the greenest city in the world and to become a zero-carbon city by 2030. With cars contributing to almost 60 per cent of the total CO2 emissions from road transport in Greater London, reducing Londoners’ dependency on cars, both in terms of use and ownership, is an essential component in realising these aims.
Although we have made real progress in encouraging Londoners to switch from using the car to more sustainable alternatives, more can be done to enable this modal shift. Indeed, one quarter of current car trips could potentially be walked and two thirds could be cycled. For these reasons, I remain committed to the central aim of my Transport Strategy of at least 3 million fewer daily car trips and one quarter of a million fewer cars owned in London by 2041.
For unavoidable car trips, accelerating the switch to electric vehicles is critical to delivering a zero-carbon city.

Supporting a Public Inquiry into why London has been Hit Particularly Hard by the Covid-19 Pandemic

Caroline Pidgeon: Will you join calls for a national public inquiry into the handling of Covid-19, and importantly, will you commit to using your position as Mayor to support a London-focussed inquiry into how the pandemic was handled in the capital too to ensure lessons are learnt?

The Mayor: I have been calling for a national public inquiry in to the handling of the pandemic since May 2020. A national public inquiry into the handling of Covid-19 is essential if those who have lost friends and relatives in the pandemic are to get the answers they deserve and if the country, including London, is to develop its resilience to future emergencies.Any national enquiry should look at the handling of the pandemic in all regions, including London. In the last year, the London Resilience Partnership has used its learning process to adapt its structures to meet the needs of this long-running response. The experience is the basis of a review by the Resilience Forum of London’s arrangements to respond to a chronic emergency. These actions allow London, without undermining any Public Inquiry, to implement learning at the earliest opportunity and ensure that the capital continues tosurvive, adapt, and prosper in the face of shocks like public health emergencies, extreme weather or thelonger-termstressesof climate change.

COVID-19 and the GTI phase 1 LFB recommendations

Andrew Dismore: How has the second wave of COVID-19 impacted on the implementation of the GTI phase recommendations? What adaptations have had to be made?

The Mayor: The most significant impact has been on the delivery of face-to-face training related to the revisedhigh-risefirefighting and fire survival guidance policies, and the new evacuation and rescue policy. The face-to-face training for watch and senior officers continued as planned until London was designated a Tier 4 area, when it was paused along with all other training. At this stage 1,000 delegates had received training from a max potential of 1,440 station-based officers. Following further risk assessment, the face-to-face training re-commenced on 5 January (but with reduced attendance to a maximum of 16 per day).A number ofsessions have also been delivered virtually as a pilot. As of the 16 February, 95 per cent of watch and senior officers have undertaken the face-to-face training and 92 of 141 guided learning exercises have been completed at stations.

Diplomats & outstanding Congestion charging due.

Murad Qureshi: How much in congestion charges is due from diplomats in London from their respective embassies and High Commissions? Can you please give me this information, in a table with the highest amount outstanding at the top?

The Mayor: Please see my response to question 2021/0862.

TfL, Shepherd’s Bush Market & business rents

Murad Qureshi: During the lockdowns of this pandemic, has TfL given its tenants of units under the viaducts and stall keepers in Shepherd’s Bush reduced business rents?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) sold a long leasehold interest in Shepherd’s Bush Market to Orion Land in 2014, which then sold the majority ownership of the Market to Yoo Capital in September 2020. TfL therefore does not manage the tenants or stall keepers at Shepherd’s Bush, and has not had any control over setting rent for a number of years. All enquiries should be sent directly to Yoo Capital.

Covid-19 Death Rate in London

Shaun Bailey: Please provide a table of the death rate from Covid-19 in London, by profession?

The Mayor: The Office for National Statistics conducted an analysis of the 7,961 deaths involving COVID-19 in the working age population of England and Wales registered between 9 March and 28 December 2020. The age-standardised mortality rate of death involving COVID-19 was statistically significantly higher in men than women.
In men the major occupational groups with the highest rates of death involving COVID-19 were men who worked in elementary occupations (66.3 deaths per 100,000 males; 699 deaths) and men in caring, leisure and other service occupations (64.1 deaths per 100,000 males; 258 deaths). The analysis was adjusted for age, but not for other factors such as ethnic group, place of residence, deprivation, or occupations of others in the household.
A table of mortality rates from COVID-19 in London, by profession has not been published.

Reviewing Uber license now that drivers are workers

Caroline Russell: Will you review Uber’s Operator license now that their drivers have finally, after six years of hard work by former Uber drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, won their right to be recognised as workers?

The Mayor: I welcome the Supreme Court ruling, which is a landmark decision for people who suffer from low pay and a lack of security at work.
I want London to be the best place to do business and to work. Gig economy workers, including private hire drivers, deserve the same rights as other workers and I urge all private hire operators in London to pay their workers the London Living Wage and to give them the security they deserve.
Treating workers well leads to increased productivity. London is a tech powerhouse for the world – but employers, including private hire operators, must play by the rules.
As the licensing authority and regulator of taxi and private hire services, Transport for London does not have the ability to stipulate the employment terms and conditions used by private hire operators. However, as has been demonstrated by the Supreme Court decision, drivers have a clear legal recourse through the employment tribunals system if they consider an employer is not playing by the rules.

Cost of Policing Football

Unmesh Desai: Please advise what the cost to the Met was for policing football matches in London for the 2018/19 football season and 2019/20 football season?

The Mayor: The costs of policing football matches in London were as follows:
2018-19 £10,658,173.63
2019-20 £8,040,402.72

Housing completions (2)

Andrew Boff: Further to your response to question 2020/2442, could you please provide a borough breakdown for the number of GLA-funded affordable homes started in 2016/17 which have now been completed?

The Mayor: As noted in the response to Mayor's Question 2020/1686 details of projects that completed prior to 2017 for legacy programmes were closed in the historic system and were not fully transferred to the current GLA Open Project System. Records for these projects are held offline and would need a manual reconciliation. Of the records that were transferred to the GLA Open Project System, 6,866 of the 7,416 starts on site noted in 2016-17 have completed.

Hit and run prosecutions 2020

Siân Berry: Could you report the most recent figures for numbers of casualties relating to hit and runs in London in 2020, with a breakdown by: a) road user mode, b) severity type, c) borough, and d) whether there was a prosecution?

The Mayor: Please find the requested information attached. A notes page is provided to aid in interpretation.
Please note to due to issues with the way fail to stop collisions are recorded it is not possible to provide accurate statistics about the true number of failed to stop collisions and the resulting outcomes.
The reason for this is that the data includes records where, despite the initial determination being that the driver failed to stop, subsequent checks have established that the driver did then go on to report either on-line or at a police station. This satisfies the requirements under Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act and no further enforcement action would be taken unless a driving offence was identified. Unfortunately, it is not possible to report how many of these records would fall into this criterion.

The Mayor: 0970 Fail to Stop.xlsx

Forensics Wait Times

Steve O'Connell: For each month from January 2018 to January 2021, what is the average Forensics Wait time and have there been any related Covid issues? Please break down by digital and non-digital forensics.

The Mayor: The MPS Forensic Services continue to work on introducing a new case management system that will enable the reporting of consistent monthly information. In order to migrate to this new way of reporting, a decision was made within the MPS that historic data would not be transferred as this would result in inconsistent datasets. I have therefore been advised that at this time it is not possible to provide the information as requested. However, the MPS have provided the following information which you will find on the attached spreadsheet:
A recent audit reported that MPS Forensic Services were quick to adapt to the pandemic utilising remote working and altered working patterns very early on. As such, while the pandemic has had an impact on MPS forensics, the service has been able to adjust its working processes accordingly.

The Mayor: 0589_Forensic Wait Times_tables.xlsx

Air Monitoring - Silvertown Tunnel

Andrew Boff: What air quality monitoring will take place at schools around the approaches to the Silvertown Tunnel?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) network of diffusion tubes and continuous monitoring stations to monitor the air quality impacts of the Silvertown Tunnel are generally being installed at roadside locations where pollutant concentrations are expected to be at their highest. This reflects the fact that TfL does not expect there to be any significant air quality impacts at any schools as a result of the scheme. This is explained in the Environmental Statement that was certified as part of the Development Consent Order (DCO).
Of the 38 air quality monitoring sites that have been installed to date to specifically monitor air quality in respect of the Silvertown Tunnel, 18 sites are within 400 metres of schools. The closest schools to these monitoring sites include Woolmore Primary School, Deptford Park Primary School, Britannia Village Primary School and St Mary Magdalene Primary School.
In addition to this, data will be drawn from existing air quality monitors operated by the London Borough of Newham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich as well as other relevant boroughs. This will include sites such as the Continuous Monitoring Stations at Millennium Primary School in RB Greenwich and the A12 Blackwall in LB Newham. Data from other sites will also be drawn upon to build a picture of the levels of air quality around the scheme.
TfL’s plans for air quality monitoring for the scheme are set out in the Monitoring & Mitigation Strategy certified as part of the DCO. TfL will further develop and discuss these plans with the Silvertown Tunnel Implementation Group and all of this information is made publicly available through TfL’s website: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/silvertown-tunnel

Timetable updates due to coronavirus

Siân Berry: A constituent has noted that train times obtained from the Transport for London (TfL) journey planner were incorrect and encouraged them to take trains that were not on the timetable at the station they used. I understand that there have been many short notice changes to train timetables in the past year. What steps is TfL taking to keep the journey planner up to date, and have you noted any particular issues?

The Mayor: Before the pandemic, Transport for London (TfL) increased the frequency of Network Rail timetable imports from once a week to five days a week. This led to an improvement in the accuracy of rail information in Journey Planner. However, TfL is aware that in some cases very short notice changes (e.g. for engineering works) are not updated in time by train operating companies. It is not possible to make manual adjustments to timetables in response to these last-minute operational changes (although TfL do so for London Overground and TfL Rail services when critical).
Further upgrades will go live shortly that will improve the live information on cancelled trains and delays as supplied by the train operating companies. As part of this work, TfL will be engaging with London-area train operating companies should they uncover any data discrepancies.

Vagrancy 2020

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide a breakdown of the number of ‘vagrancy’ offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police in 2020, broken down by i) month, and ii) borough.

The Mayor: I have made clear my commitment to ending rough sleeping by publishing London’s first ever Rough Sleeping Plan of Action to ensure a sustainable route off the streets for every single rough sleeper.
Persons arrested under Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act are arrested for a variety of reasons, not simply because they are homeless or rough sleeping. The MPS, for example, has growing concern around issues of modern slavery and organised crime groups exploiting individuals to beg who are not homeless. Arrest can be a mechanism for the police to intervene to help potential victims.
The current legislation also gives the police the tools to help tackle other crimes. (see table)

The Mayor: 0101_Vagrancy 2020.xlsx

London Fire Brigade Home safety visits (2)

Andrew Dismore: Which, if any, of the changes made to London Fire Brigade home visits as a result of the pandemic will be continued when London moves into the post-pandemic period?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade(LFB)will evaluate their approach toHome Fire SafetyVisits (HFSVs)during the pandemicso thatlessons are learnt for future delivery. Thisevaluationwill include physical visits to the most vulnerablepeople,telephone calls and advice,andinformation on the LFB websitearound fire safety in the home. A new online Home Fire Safety Checkerwillbelaunchedsoon,which will allowresidents to answer specific questions about fire risks in their property and determine if a physical visit is still required. The pandemic has showed that in addition to a physical visit, there are additional waysfor people toreceive personalised fire safety advice.

London Fire Brigade Home safety visits (3)

Andrew Dismore: How many home safety visits did London Fire Brigade make during 2020?

The Mayor: The number of Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSVs) carried out by all London Fire Brigade (LFB) staff in 2020 was 31,433, of which 16,607 were carried out in the pre-COVID periodfromJanuary to March 2020.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, HFSVs were partly suspended, with a focus on carrying out visits to the most vulnerablepeople. LFB changed its approach in response to government announcements about new tiers/alert levels. In Tier 4 and during national lockdown, LFB suspended all HFSVs except for those with exceptional risk, such as threats of arson or suspected safeguarding issues.
LFB did not stop taking bookings for HFSVs but put those with a lower risk on a waiting list. LFB prioritised risk over the phone using a series of pre-determined questions and thendetermined whether an urgent HFSV wasrequiredorcouldbe conducted whenrestrictionsareeased.For urgent visits,firesafety officerswere given guidance around PPE andhow toconductthe visit safely.

New funding for London Fire Cadets programme (3)

Susan Hall: Has the London Fire Brigade been using the diversity of the cadet force since 2019 for future recruitment, when it was reported that 55% of cadets were girls & 49% BAME? What is the percentage of female and BAME recruits admitted to the London Fire Brigade since 2019?

The Mayor: Although the main aim of Fire Cadets isn’t a recruitment mechanism to increase diversity in London Fire Brigade (LFB), a career pathway has been developed to advise and support those young people and adult volunteersinterested in both operational and non-operational careers within the Brigade. Since the beginning of the Fire Cadets, 65 Cadet or Cadet VolunteershavejoinedLFBineitheraFRS, Control or firefighter role. Of these,20 were female and 23 were from a BAME background.

London Fire Brigade operational staff

Andrew Dismore: How many London Fire Brigade operational staff live in London and how many live outside London? Please break down by rank.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade Uniformed Operational Staff by home address location as of 9 March 2021.
Rank
Inside Greater London
Outside Greater London
Total Staff
Deputy Assistant Commissioner and above*
11
12
23
Group Commander
29
40
69
Station Commander
57
91
148
Station Officer
66
201
267
Sub Officer
143
317
460
Leading Firefighter
183
263
446
Firefighter
1516
1808
3324
Trainee Firefighter
47
16
63
Total Operational Staff
2052
2748
4800
* The ranks of Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Assistant Commissioner are grouped due to the smaller numbers of personnel at this level.

London Fire Brigade control staff

Andrew Dismore: How many London Fire Brigade control staff live in London and how many live outside London?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade Control Staff by home address location as of 9 March 2021.
Staff group
Inside Greater London
Outside Greater London
Total Staff
Control Staff
63
41
104

Auditing London’s High-Rise Buildings

Andrew Dismore: How many high-rise audits has London Fire Brigade undertaken since 2016? Please provide a year-by-year breakdown.

The Mayor: The number of fire safety audits in high-rise buildings of 18 metres and above that London Fire Brigade has undertaken in each calendar year since 2016 is set out in the table below:
Calendar year
Fire safety audit
2016
941
2017
1418
2018
1258
2019
988
2020
1964
2021 (current year in progress)
348
Total
6917

HMICFRS and LFB’s Incident command training

Andrew Dismore: In its recent report ‘Inspection of the LFB’s progress to implement the recommendations from the GTI’s phase 1 report’ HMICFRS highlighted the improvements made in LFB’s control, but stated that “incident command training and assessing competence remain a risk for the brigade” Is this a risk that you recognise and if so are you content that training and assessment in place is rigorous enough to be fit for purpose if another major incident were to occur?

The Mayor: The inspectionundertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS)identified a risk in relation toa number ofLondon Fire Brigade (LFB) staff who require further training or an assessment of incident command competence relevant to their role. Aplanhas been putintoplace to prioritise and address those who require further training and those who require an assessment of competence. All Incident Commanders are now subject to the maintenance of competence cycle which focuses on the acquisition of skills, the maintenance of skills and revalidation of skills over atwo-yearcycle. Operational learning,including National Operational learning,highlighted through LFB’soperational improvement processes are factored into the maintenance of competence cycle to ensureIncidentCommanders and processes are kept up to date and fit for purpose.

London Fire Brigade Home safety visits (1)

Andrew Dismore: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the way in which London Fire Brigade undertook home safety visits during 2020?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade introduced a tiered approach to conducting Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSV), in line with COVID-19 regulations, ensuring the most vulnerable residents still received a physical HFSV to their property. Area Teams provided additional advice over the phone to HFSV requests and produced updated safety advice for residents. The Brigade also made 1,200 calls to residents who had received a Fire Safe and Well visit in 2018/19 in five London boroughs - Islington, Waltham Forest, Ealing, Greenwich and Merton - with 14per centof these resulting in onward referrals for HFSVs, to address safeguarding concerns or to partner organisations for further support.The Brigade has also produced a Home Fire Safety Checker which is a simple-to-use online tool that brings the life-saving advice offered in an in-person HFSV to an even wider audience.The Checker is being finalised and will be publicly available soon.

Improvements in Air Quality Tooting Broadway (1)

Leonie Cooper: Could you give the date on which Tooting Broadway broke legal limits on air quality in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?

The Mayor: There is one air pollution monitoring station near Tooting Broadway, (Wandsworth – Tooting High Street). It is a roadside site measuring NO2 and PM10. As outlined below, it has been in compliance with all legal limits since 2019.
The NO2 hourly average limit value was not breached between 2017 and 2019, with the following number of hourly means recorded above 200µg/m3: 0 (2017), 2 (2018 – threshold not exceeded), 3 (2019 – threshold not exceeded), and (2020 – data not available).
The NO2 annual average limit (40 µg/m3) was breached in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The annual averages recorded each year were: 55 µg/m3 (2017), 53 µg/m3 (2018), 50 µg/m3 (2019), (2020 – data not available).
The annual and daily average PM10 limit values were not breached between 2017 and 2020.

Improvements in Air Quality Putney High St (2)

Leonie Cooper: What is the situation in 2021? Has Putney High St exceeded legal limits yet?

The Mayor: In 2021 so far (up to 18 March), neither of the monitoring sites on Putney High Street have recorded an hour over the hourly limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of 200ugm-3.
Full details of monitoring data between 2017 and 2020, and applicable limit values for NO2 and PM10 are included in response to Question No: 2020/1049.

Train problem delays

Gareth Bacon: Please provide details of how many delays caused by train problems there have been on each TfL line for each year from 2012 until the end of your current mayoralty.

The Mayor: Below is a summary of the fleet improvement activities since 2012 and commentary on significant trends in the requested data set:
Bakerloo
Central
Victoria
Jubilee
Northern
Piccadilly
S Stock

The Mayor: 1219 Train Problems Data.pdf

Tube signal failures

Gareth Bacon: Further to question 2021/0503, please provide details of how many tube signal failures there have been on each TfL line for the five years prior to the start of your mayoralty.

The Mayor: Please see the attachment for details.
Most signal failures were for short durations, and Transport for London (TfL) worked to resolve the issues as quickly as possible to ensure that Londoners could get to their destinations. Since May 2011, there has been a steady reduction in signal failures on the Tube, and TfL continues to work towards further reductions.
The following table shows the amount of signal failures by line:
Line
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Up to 5 May 2016
Bakerloo
72
78
91
89
50
32
C&H
159
161
175
210
165
60
Central
324
291
329
253
292
81
District
405
467
464
586
388
151
Jubilee
1312
744
355
314
220
71
Metropolitan
408
349
274
335
258
86
Northern
243
208
322
264
220
76
Piccadilly
258
265
253
287
194
95
Victoria
297
153
133
77
37
19
Waterloo & City
16
22
24
32
29
21
Network Total
3493
2737
2419
2446
1852
692
TfL is modernising the network with unprecedented levels of investment in the Tube to drive further reliability improvements. The Four Lines Modernisation Programme is one of the most important upgrades in the history of the Tube. It is transforming the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, enabling up to 32 trains per hour in the peak by 2023.
Since May 2016, TfL has increased service frequencies on the Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines following significant investment, including the signalling systems. In May 2017, the Victoria line started operating a world-class service of 36 trains per hour during peak times.
More robust parts are being introduced at points and crossings, as part of a wider track improvement programme across the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines. TfL has also introduced monitoring equipment that detects deterioration of track, so that mitigation work can be carried out early before signal failures take place.
TfL is also committed to upgrading the whole Deep Tube network, starting with trains on the Piccadilly line, to deliver increased service frequencies and capacity with new trains and signalling to support London’s recovery. TfL will continue to make the case to government for the long term investment that London and its transport network requires.

The Mayor: 1218 (Tube signal related problem) delays.xlsx

Improvements in Air Quality Clapham Junction (2)

Leonie Cooper: What is the situation in 2021? Has Clapham Junction exceeded legal limits yet?

The Mayor: In 2021so far (up to 18 March), the monitoring station near Clapham Junction has not recorded an hour over the hourly limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of 200ugm-3.
Full details of monitoring data between 2017 and 2020, and applicable limit values for NO2 and PM10 are included in response to Question No: 2020/1053.

Tackling Anti-Semitism

Caroline Pidgeon: The Community Security Trust’s (CST) Anti-Semitism Incident Report 2020 shows that last year the CST recorded 1,668 antisemitic incidents across the UK, with 56% of these being in London. Do you share my concern that, even with the Covid-19 restrictions that were in place during 2020, these figures represent the third highest year for anti-Semitic incidents the CST has ever recorded, and what further action will you be taking to tackle anti-Semitism in our city?

The Mayor: I share your concern at the levels of hate crime targeted at London’s Jewish communities. Both the Commissioner and I take anti-Semitism very seriously and have taken significant steps to address it. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), working with organisations such as the Community Security Trust (CST) and the Shomrim, have developed reassurance and preventative policing plans across London. This includes recognition by Local Policing Teams of the dates of Jewish High Holy days to heighten awareness for the potential of hate crime incidents, enabling an increased police presence and outreach in vulnerable locations, such as places of worship and transport hubs.
At the same time, I have invested more than any other Mayor to tackle hate, intolerance and extremism. My Shared Endeavour Fund supports projects delivered by civil society groups including The Anne Frank Trust UK, The Union of Jewish Students, Maccabi GB, Salaam Peace and The Arc Theatre Ensemble, who specifically cover anti-Semitism in their projects. I’ve also increased the investment in supporting victims of hate crime when it does occur, including specialist support for victims of anti-Semitic hate crime.

Bridging the Gap Report Recommendations

Andrew Boff: What progress have you made with implementing the recommendations of my March 2020 policy report “Bridging the Gap: Tackling Transport Inequality South of the River”?

The Mayor: I recognise that parts of south London are more dependent on National Rail Services than other parts of London, which means that the networks are not always well integrated with Transport for London (TfL) services. As a result, I have been calling for devolution of the contracting authority of local stopping services to TfL in and around London, and for services in south and south east London to operate in a more metro-like style with higher frequencies. This would improve customer experience and enable better integration with London’s wider transport system. TfL has also set out a compelling strategic case for this “metroisation” of suburban rail services in south and south east London in the “Strategic Case for Metroisation in south and south east London” report.
In December 2020, TfL temporarily added Thameslink services to the Tube map to help customers move around the city during the continuing coronavirus pandemic. As it operates a through-London service, this provides Londoners more options during the pandemic.
On the bus network, I have brought in the Hopper fare that provides for everyone across London, particularly for those who are reliant on the bus and/or tram in south London. In 2019, TfL also introduced two new bus routes, 301 and 335, in the south of London.
TfL has also laid out its plan to become financially sustainable by 2023/24 in its Financial Sustainability Plan. This has laid the groundwork for discussions between TfL and Government officials that are underway ahead of the current funding agreement expiring on 31 March 2021. Once a long-term agreement is in place, TfL will be able to commit to capital programmes that benefit all Londoners.
I am committed to working with TfL, the DfT, Network Rail, train operating companies, the police and all our stakeholders and partners to improve the safety and whole journey experience for all Londoners.

London Councils Harmful Practices Programme

Susan Hall: Since your £44m commitment in 2018 to make London safe for women & girls, how successful has the London Councils Harmful Practices Programme been in training nurses, midwives & social workers to recognise abuses such as FGM and intervene? Please provide examples.

The Mayor: The Ascent Ending Harmful Practices Partnership project that was funded by London Councils and MOPAC trained 1,847 frontline professionals in total over two years (2018-2020), of which 661 were from health and social care. This enabled them to better identify harmful practice cases and be able to provide intensive case work to women and girls who have been and, or were at risk of harmful practices.
Frontline professionals included but were not limited to the police, social care officers, health visitors, teachers, housing officers and safeguarding leads.
Evaluation of the training was through feedback from attendees after training sessions. Overall professionals reported that they had an increased understanding of harmful practices and improved confidence in identifying women at risk, referring to specialist organisations where appropriate. Participants also stated that they would undertake further research about how to apply the knowledge they learned and introduce it to their day-to-day role.

Nurses in custody suites

Andrew Boff: At a recent PCC, it was mentioned that medical records can now be accessed by nurses in Met custody suites, what precautions are being taken to protect patient privacy?

The Mayor: Custody Nurse Practitioners (CNPs) are registered Health Care Professionals (HCPs) who work within an Information Governance Framework that has been jointly signed by the National Health Service Digital and the Metropolitan Police Service. A Data Protection Impact Assessment and Data Protection Agreement have also been signed.
Medical records are accessed through SystmOne, an Electronic Medical Records System in Police Custody, which is in the process of being rolled out across the MPS Custody Estate, or through SCR (GP – Summary Care Records) records. CNPs are sponsored by the MPS on a clinical need-to-access-only basis and have individual secure smart cards with designated PIN numbers for added security. Most access requests to medical records are conducted with detainee consent whether via Electronic Medical Records or SCR records. In addition, access to SCR (GP) records can only be carried out without consent in an emergency for the sole purpose of ensuring detainees’ personal safety during that emergency.

Taxi Age Limit Reduction

Keith Prince: With regard to your answer to question 2020/3665, will the mayor provide revised 2025 taxi fleet emission estimates if the age limit in 2025 was a) 14 years, b) 13 years, c) 12 years?

The Mayor: As I highlighted in my response to question 2020/3655, we must balance temporary coronavirus related reductions in emissions, which can be attributed to lower taxi usage, with lower uptake of ZEC taxis than expected. It is vital that we ensure that when taxi use in London recovers it does so in a way that continues to reduce its impact on emissions and poor air quality.
When Transport for London made the decision to reduce taxi age limits, it looked thoroughly at the options and had calculated the emission impact of 14, 13 and 12 years (see Decision Paper, Figure 1, page 7 https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tph/taxi-age-limits/user_uploads/taxi-age-limit-decision-paper.pdf ). The phased approach to taxi age limits, reducing to 12 years by November 2022, ensures we are on track to meet the 2025 legal requirement to reduce NOx emissions from taxis by 65 per cent compared to 2013 levels.
Revising taxi fleet emission estimates is not appropriate at this time due to the ongoing uncertainties around the pandemic and the number of taxis that could return to the fleet. Given emerging evidence of the association between air pollution and the most severe effects of coronavirus, I remain committed to taking action to protect Londoners’ health and achieve these legal standards as quickly as possible.

Insurance offences

Susan Hall: For each year 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, how many motorcyclist and scooter drivers were caught with no or incorrect insurance? How many of these were for lack of business insurance?

The Mayor: Please see the table below.
Number of Motorcycles and Scooters stopped for No Insurance (where recorded)
Type
2017
2018
2019
2020
E-scooter
10
6
Motorcycle
323
397
646
173
Scooter
273
272
312
67
The above table shows the number of recorded motorcycles and scooters stopped for no insurance by the MPS in each of the years requested. For some records the type of vehicle is not shown and as such they are not included in the above table. In these cases, identification of vehicle type would require a manual search.
The MPS records do not allow the disaggregation of business insurance from the total overall no insurance records.

Air Quality

Tony Devenish: Would the Mayor confirm how despite the introduction of the ULEZ, Park Lane, Kensington High Street and Brompton Road remain at the bottom 5% of areas in terms of air quality after nearly 5 years in office?

The Mayor: Between 2016 and 2019, in London, there has been a 97 per cent reduction in the number of schools where pupils are exposed to pollution above legal limits, and a 94 per cent reduction in the number of people exposed to illegal levels of pollution at home.
Over that time the reduction in annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at roadside sites in central London was five times the national average reduction, showing that these gains are due to local action taken by Londoners in response to my policies.
Roads like Park Lane, Kensington High Street and Brompton road have directly benefitted from my wider programme to reduce emissions from buses, heavy vehicles and other sources throughout London. They have also indirectly benefitted from the ULEZ: I have previously published a report showing that an estimated reduction of 13 per cent in NO2 at monitoring sites in inner London as a result of the ULEZ.
However, there is more to be done and it is precisely these roads, which will be within the expanded zone from October 25 this year, that will see the biggest benefit from ULEZ expansion. These roads have also benefited from the introduction of tougher Low Emission Zone standards for heavy vehicles on 1 March this year.

Diversity and Inclusion (2)

Peter Whittle: How much money did the Metropolitan Police spend on Diversity and Inclusion over the last five calendar years?

The Mayor: Inclusion, diversity and engagement is a fundamental part of all MPS activity. Therefore, it is not possible to quantify specific expenditure by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Metropolitan Police Clear Up Rates

Peter Whittle: What have been the Metropolitan Police’s clear up rates for murder, burglary, rape and Grievous Bodily Harm over the last five years?

The Mayor: The MPS publishes information related to sanction detections by crime type via the crime dashboards:
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/crime-data-dashboard-previous/
https://www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/crime-data-dashboard/

Sustainable Travel, Active, Responsible Safe (STARS) Programme

Alison Moore: How many schools are in London and how many are members of TfL's STARS (Sustainable Travel, Active, Responsible Safe) travel plan accreditation scheme?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL) Sustainable Travel: Active. Responsible. Safe (STARS) programme is a schools accreditation initiative which combines on-line resources with live, interactive sessions to promote sustainable and safe travel. It is delivered by the London Transport Museum on TfL’s behalf.
There are 3,817 primary and secondary schools in London (including faith and independent schools). In total, 1,468 primary and secondary schools are registered in the STARS programme.
STARS is predominantly focused on primary schools where switching to sustainable journeys is more engaging as a subject matter for the schools and also more impactful. There are currently 1,732 primary schools in London (including faith and independent schools) of which 71 per cent are registered in the STARS programme.
The programme awards Bronze, Silver and ultimately Gold accreditation to those schools which have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to active travel and mode shift away from the car to more sustainable modes.
There are currently 692 Gold schools with a target to reach 1,000 Gold schools by the end of 2023/24 academic year.

Catalytic converter thefts [4]

Andrew Dismore: The MPS dataset for 2020 shows that there were 1114 catalytic converters stolen in Barnet. Why is the number in Barnet so high, what action is being taken, and what resources are being dedicated to eradicating the problem?

The Mayor: During the pandemic we have seen a change in the modus operandi of catalytic converter theft. Thieves have moved from targeting carparks and other high public footfall areas to residential streets as a result, we have seen higher increases in offences in locations which have better road networks, including Barnet.
The cars being targeted are generally older vehicles and thieves are targeting these residential areas where there are higher concentrations of these types of vehicles.
To tackle this issue, the MPS is taking part in national discussions to develop a national crime profile and liaise with the car industry to roll out a marking scheme for catalytic converters to assist in tackling this type of crime.
I have again written to the Society of Motor Manufacturers regarding my concern over this issue.

Catalytic converter thefts [1]

Andrew Dismore: Residents report that a number of Catalytic converters have been stolen from Toyota Prius and Lexus cars around Edgware and Burnt Oak in Barnet. How many have been reported to the Met Police? How many cases are open, and how many have been closed with no action taken?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) does not have the data breakdown as requested. The table below shows all outcomes for catalytic converter theft in Barnet between 1 February 2020 and 31 January 2021.
To tackle the issue of catalytic converter theft, the MPS is taking part in discussions to develop a national crime profile andisliaisingwith the car industry to roll out a marking scheme for catalytic converters.
I alsohighlighted the important role the industry needs to plan in addressing catalytic converter theft in my recent letter toChief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In this letter I set out my concerns about the increase in catalytic converter theft and askedthe Society to work with the MPS to tackle theproblem.
Outcomes based on Offences of Theft from Motor Vehicle that list Catalytic Converters as property stolen recorded by the MPS in the Borough of Barnet between 01/02/2020 – 31/01/2021
Outcome Description
Total
Outcome Pending
5
Evidential difficulties victim based
3
Suspect identified; Victim supports; evidential difficulties
2
Suspect identified; Victim does not support; evidential difficulties.
1
Investigation complete: no suspect identified
1104
Removed Crime (No Crime)
1
Grand Total
1116

US embassy

Andrew Dismore: The US embassy has racked up a huge bill for the congestion charge, due to their refusal to pay it. Can you confirm how much is currently owed; and as there is a new President in the USA, will you ask him to pay what is owed?

The Mayor: Information about outstanding debt owed by Embassies and Diplomatic Missions for non-payment of the Congestion Charge is regularly published by Transport for London at the following link:https://content.tfl.gov.uk/cclez-online-factsheet-embassy-debt-dec20.pdf
I have asked Transport for London to consider the most appropriate way to raise the issue of outstanding debt with the new administration.

Tube noise sound testing

Andrew Dismore: When will TfL return to taking noise measurements? For understandable reasons they have been deferred, but given the volume of noise complaints over the last few months, will you resume testing?

The Mayor: In mid-December 2020, as result of London being moved into tier 3 (“Very high alert”) of the government’s coronavirus restrictions system, Transport for London (TfL) temporarily suspended its residential noise monitoring programme. However, TfL’s work to address noise and vibration issues on the network, including rail grinding, is continuing during this period.
Given the national lockdown announced earlier this year, TfL does not plan to resume residential noise monitoring under the current level of restrictions. TfL is now assessing the government’s recent announcement regarding a roadmapout of the current lockdown, and will continue to keep London Assembly members updated on its plans to resume monitoring.

Driving Public Excellence

Tony Devenish: With the Bank of England stimulus having reached £450bn since the Covid-19 pandemic began, equivalent to 40 times TfL’s annual budget (the annual GDP of Belgium) is it time that you started spending more time on driving public excellence out of your existing £18bn budget and less time asking, like Oliver Twist, for “more”?

The Mayor: The GLA Group has made significant savings since 2016 and has a clear strategy to deliver further efficiency and value through collaboration across the Group. The GLAGroup CollaborationBoard has been established to identify and deliver further efficiencies across the GLAGroup in back office and policy and delivery areas.
Key current collaboration projects include the Group-wide longer-term accommodation strategy to co-ordinate efficient use of the office estate, which is expected to save £100 million in the period up to 2030. The collaborative procurement function has reduced procurement costs; between 2015-16 and 2018-19 spend in categories in scope (for GLA, LFB, LLDC, OPDC and TfL) was reduced by £200 million (36 per cent). In addition, work is underway on a commercial energy project to help the GLAGroup to save costs, manage risks and generate a revenue stream. This could deliver benefits in the range of low tens of millions of pounds per year.

Mayor's Office Staff Cost and Numbers

Susan Hall: Please can you list the total cost of staff and number of staff in the Mayor’s office for each year May-April from 2016 to 2020?

The Mayor: The number of staff in the Mayor’s Office as at 30 April for each of the four years from 2016 to 2020 is as follows:
Year
Staff no
May 2016 to April 2017
57
May 2017 to April 2018
65
May 2018 to April 2019
70
May 2019 to April 2020
60
It should be noted that these figures are a snapshot of the numbers of staff in post as at 30 April in each of the years. There have been a number of structural changes during the years in question and the numbers quoted do not reflect movements of staff in and out of the Mayor’s Office throughout the year.
It should also be noted that from early 2018 to early 2020 the Fire & Resilience team was based in the Mayor’s Office, and that in early 2020 the Government Relations team moved to the Strategy & Communications directorate.
Due to the number of changes in personnel and structure across the four year period, and the consequent provision of a snapshot number of staff on a specific date, it is not possible to provide cost information on the basis of the numbers of staff quoted in the table above

Cottages behind West Hampstead Fire Station

Andrew Dismore: When do you expect the refurbishment of the cottages behind West Hampstead Fire Station to be completed?

The Mayor: Practical completion of the cottages to the rear of West Hampstead Fire Station was achieved on 18 December 2020 and the cottages are now ready to be occupied. The single persons quarters policy is being updated and the cottages will be offered for occupation by staff as soon as possible.

Increased mobility post-Covid and air quality (3)

Leonie Cooper: What monitoring of the interventions to suppress a car-led recovery from Covid-19 are currently taking place?

The Mayor: Aspeople start to increase the number of journeys they makeandLondon begins to recover from the pandemic, it is important that we act to avoid a car-based recoveryand plan for a sustainable future. As well as our comprehensive monitoring of modal travel trends and the behavioural motivations underlying travel choices, we have put in place specific monitoring in relation to pandemic related initiatives such as the Streetspace for London programme and the changes to the central London congestion charge. This monitoring, and emerging results from it, are explained in detail in our Travel in London report 13, published this month and available here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/travel-in-london-reports.
In addition, with the FIA Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, I am funding a study which specifically evaluates the air quality impacts of School Streets. To measure the air quality benefits of the new School Streets, 30 air quality sensors which record nitrogen dioxide levels are being installed at 18 primary schools across Brent, Enfield and Lambeth. The results of this study will be available in the next year.

Clean bus fleet

Susan Hall: Are you on track to deliver a 100% zero-emission bus fleet in London by 2037?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is currently on track to deliver my Transport Strategy commitment that London’s bus fleet will be entirely zero emission by no later than 2037. London already has the biggest zero-emission bus fleet in the UK and one of the largest in Europe, with over 450 such vehicles already on the road. The number of zero emission vehicles in the fleet is expected to increase to 700 by the end of 2021.
While the current target is for all buses to be zero-emission by 2037, TfL has outlined to Government that, with the required financial support, it can accelerate this programme to make all buses in London zero-emission by 2030.
TfL has also made great strides in cleaning up the existing bus fleet, helping to reduce emissions. All buses in TfL’s 9,000-strong core fleet now meet or exceed stringent Euro VI emissions standards, a key milestone on the way to enhancing our air quality in London.

Improving London’s toxic air (2)

Leonie Cooper: What impact have the 12 Low Emission Bus Zones had on air quality, since implementation?

The Mayor: The Greater London Authority published an evaluation report in September 2019 to confirm the hugely positive results. It showed the zones cut bus emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) by an average of 90 per cent across the routes operating within them. This was the result of upgrading buses to meet the ultra-clean Euro VI engine emission standard or bringing in new buses. All 12 Low Emission Bus Zones (LEBZs) were delivered between 2017 and 2019, ahead of the planned delivery date of 2020.
Transport for London (TfL) has now upgraded London’s 9,000-strong core bus fleet to meet or exceed the Euro VI emission standard, reducing NOx emissions from the buses by up to 90 per cent and particulate matter by 80 per cent. This has significantly reduced the contribution from TfL buses to transport-related NOx emissions.

Improving London’s toxic air (3)

Leonie Cooper: How many non-compliant vehicles have entered the ULEZ since its launch, broken down by month? How many were private cars, vans or private hire vehicles?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) monitors compliance rates of the vehicles seen in the ULEZ zone. The attached table show a breakdown of the number and proportion of compliant and non-compliant vehicles seen in the zone since ULEZ was introduced on 8 April 2019.
TfL has begun publishing monthly reports including compliance by vehicle type here https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/ultra-low-emission-zone
The Central London Ultra Low emission Zone 2020 report published by the Greater London Authority in March 2021 summarises the progress of compliance from scheme launch up to the end of 2020. This report found that compliance has continued to grow since the launch of the scheme and overall compliance with the central London ULEZ at the end of December 2020 stood at 85 per cent of vehicles. For cars, excluding black cabs, this rises to over 90 per cent compliance.

The Mayor: 0279 - Improving London's toxic air (3).xlsx

New funding for London Fire Cadets programme (1)

Susan Hall: Since your £1.1m of funding in 2019 to boost the number of fire cadets in London, are there now more than 500 in the capital?

The Mayor: Due to pandemic restrictions,London Fire Brigade’sFire Cadets units are only just re-opening units to young people and,therefore,recruitment continues across all 33 London boroughs. There arecurrently 328 young people engagedand, despite the challenges that Covid-19 has presented, over 100brandnewFire Cadetshave joined since Januaryand this number is growing weekly. Current pandemic restrictions mean that each unit is only allowed to accommodate 15 young people at a time.Consequently, whenface-to-face deliveryreturnsin April,thenumbers will have to remain reduced until restrictions are relaxed.
At full capacity,eachFire CadetUnitcantake 16 first yearCadetsandup tosevenOfficerCadets.In addition, there are13AmbassadorCadetswhoare appointed annually and attend units acrossLondon.This equates to a potential 772 young people engaging with Fire Cadets across the 33 units during each academic year.There arealsoapproximately350 adult volunteerssupporting the delivery of Fire Cadets.

New funding for London Fire Cadets programme (2)

Susan Hall: Subsequent to your injection of £1.1m of fire cadets funding in 2019, have 15 new Fire Cadets Units been created in London, meaning that every London borough now has at least 1 unit?

The Mayor: All London Boroughs now have a Fire CadetsUnit. The remaining 15Unitslaunched in January 2021 and are currentlymeetingonlineevery week,with the aim of returning to a safe level of face-to-face delivery through a hub-based approach around mid-April,in line with National Youth Agency (NYA) guidelines.The opening of a Fire CadetsUnitin every London borough is a fantastic achievement, particularlyconsidering the challenges the pandemic has presented. The supportI have giventhrough the Young Londoners Fundmeans thathundreds more young people are now able to develop their personal and professional skills in a positive environment where they can gain qualifications, improve their career prospects and help the community.I would encouragepeoplewho know a young person aged 14-17who may beinterested in joiningtheFireCadets,tovisitthe London Fire Brigade website for more information:https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/community/young-people/fire-cadets/joining-fire-cadets/

Step Free National Rail Stations

Alison Moore: Following MQ 2020/0651 can you provide an update on which National Rail Stations in London have become Step Free since May 2016? And which stations are due to become step free in the future?

The Mayor: The following National Rail stations in London have become step free since May 2016:
Step free access schemes are currently underway at the following National Rail stations. These have been grouped by funder and the status of the works.
Stations funded by the Crossrail project
The delivery of step free access at these stations is fully funded as part of the Crossrail project:
Step free access will be provided to all platforms served by the Elizabeth line.
Stations funded for delivery by the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme
The delivery of step free access at these stations is fully funded as part of the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme:
Stations funded for design development by the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme:
The design for step-free access schemes at the following stations is currently funded by the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme. These schemes will only be progressed to delivery if they prove to be feasible, affordable and value for money as the design process progresses:
Other step free schemes

Energy for Londoners (1)

Leonie Cooper: How much in total have you invested in the Energy for Londoners Programme? Please provide a project by project breakdown.

The Mayor: Since 2017/18, I have invested the following in my Energy for Londoners programme:
Home energy (£11.2m):
Warmer Homes £8.4m
Retrofit Accelerator – Homes £1.9m
Solar Together £0.7m
Energy Leap £0.2m

Non-domestic energy (£3.5m): Retrofit Accelerator – Workplaces   £2.2m
Cleaner Heat Cashback  £1.1m
Business Climate Challenge £0.1m
Solar Industrial Estates  £0.1m

Community and decentralised energy (£4.3m): London Community Energy Fund   £1.0m
Decentralised Energy Enabling Project £1.8m
North London District Energy Network expansion  £1.2m
Licence Lite pilot   £0.3m
In addition, in 2018 I invested £43m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund. Funds were then secured from private investors to make MEEF a £500m fund. To date MEEF has leveraged over £250m across eight investments and has a strong pipeline of projects. And, last October, I awarded a further £8.2m to the fund.
In 2020/21 my Energy for Londoners programmes have helped leverage over £160m for London from Government, including £9.45m for my Warmer Homes Programme to support the most vulnerable.
All programmes have been impacted by the pandemic throughout this financial year, therefore some budgets may not have been fully spent. This will result in some budget being carried forward in to 2021/22.

Protecting Londoners From ‘Thought Crime’ Policing (2)

David Kurten: In your answer to my question MQ2020/1052, you stated that during theperiod 2014 to 2019, 9,473 people had non-crime hate incidents recordedagainst them by the Metropolitan Police Service. How do you expectLondoners to trust or have any credibility in these figures, when thecase of Harry Miller revealed that people expressing opinions within thelaw are been criminalised by having non-crime hate incidents recordedagainst them?
Ref:https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/1052

The Mayor: People are not criminalised over a non-crime incident and therefore the premise of the question is wrong. The Police are required to record such incidents as their prevalence can be used as an indicator of tensions in the community. If police investigation demonstrates that such incidents do not reach the threshold of criminal behaviour then no criminal proceeding will ensue.

Protecting Londoners From ‘Thought Crime’ Policing (3)

David Kurten: In the MailOnline article ‘Police log 120,000 ‘hate reports’ – but notONE is a crime’, 13 February 2021, Harry Miller a former police officerand co-founder of the Fair Cop campaign group said: “Non-crime hateincident reports do not appear to have any usefulness as a crimeprevention tool, but what they do have is a chilling effect on free
speech because they make people think twice before saying or postingsomething on social media in the fear that it could land them with acriminal record. “These reports have allowed the police to become weaponised by wokeactivists who seek to attack and shut people up if they dare to expressany views that they do not agree with.” Do you acknowledge these comments that non-crime hate incidents are beingused by activists to silence people they do not agree with?
Ref:Police log 120,000 'hate reports' - but not ONE is a crime

The Mayor: No. I do not draw the same conclusion from the comments that you quote. As I stated in MQ 2020/1052, recording hate crime incidents helps the police to build an intelligence picture with regard to community tensions and the risks of incidents escalating into hate crimes and is supported by College of Policing guidance. People are not criminalised over a non-crime incident. Indeed, as I quoted in MQ2020/1050, the Honourable Mr Justice Knowles stated that “the recording of non-crime hate incidents barely encroaches on freedom of expression, if it does so at all.”

Biodiversity in London (1)

Leonie Cooper: How many new parks funded by TfL have been introduced or are planned for introduction?

The Mayor: As set out in my London Environment Strategy, I am committed to greening London and making it a world leading National Park City.Transport for London (TfL) is key to helping achieve this and greening is central to the Healthy Streets theme of my Transport Strategy.
Fourteen parklets have been delivered through my air quality fund so far, all in 2019: one as part of the City of London Low Emission Neighbourhood (LEN), four as part of the Greenwich LEN; five as part of the CityFringe LEN; and four as part of the Hammersmith Grove Zero Emission Zone.
TfL Commercial Development’s (CD) programme for the development of 58 sites across London is currently planned to deliver at least 18 parks of various sizes totalling around 5.7ha.Achieving this is subject to securing implementable planning permissions.In addition, most of TfL CD’s residential schemes also make significant financial contributions toward the improvement of parks and playspaces within the vicinity of the development.

Future of the Taxi Trade

David Kurten: What is your future plan for Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles, given, in my view, the poor outcomes from your policies over the last five years?

The Mayor: As I make clear in MQ 2021/1202, taxis and private hire vehicles continue to have an important role to play in London, including as the city recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority of the points in my Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan have been delivered and a significant number of improvements have been made as a result to both taxi and private hire services and to the benefit of licensees.
Air quality remains a priority for London and there remains a need to reduce emissions from both taxis and private hire vehicles. Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) licensing requirements have been introduced for any new vehicle entering either fleet:
• www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/emissions-standards-for-taxis
• www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/emissions-standards-for-phvs
Support has been provided to encourage the uptake of ZEC vehicles, including Transport for London contributing to the £7,500 Plug-In Grant that reduces the purchase price of a ZEC taxi, the £42m delicensing scheme (see MQ2021/1278) and a network of Rapid Charge Points.
I appreciate and applaud the strides both industries have made to this end, in particular the taxi trade as early adopters of bespoke ZEC vehicles. These changes are helping to ensure that London’s taxi trade remains an icon, and that both taxi and private hire vehicles are playing a leading role in improving London’s air quality.

Uber

David Kurten: Uber maintained for a long period of time that the acceptance of private hire bookings by a licensed London PHV Operator acting as agent for drivers would comply with the regulatory regime. Given the recent Appeal Court ruling that Uber drivers are employees, does the mayor believe that Uber have been operating in London outside of the PHV regulatory regime since TfL granted them an Operator Licence in 2012?

The Mayor: Private hire bookings must be accepted by a licensed private hire operator. Transport for London (TfL) monitors compliance with this requirement by all London licensed private hire operators and it will continue to monitor compliance following the Supreme Court ruling.
TfL’s regulatory oversight of Uber, including its booking acceptance process, is well documented here: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/press-releases-and-news.

Crime reporting

Tony Devenish: The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham plans to take reports of non-serious crimes instead of the police, do you agree that this will create confusion and lead to crimes not being investigated?

The Mayor: The borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) is not planning to take reportsof non-serious crimesinstead of the police. The Council is recommending setting up a new crimecommunicationinfrastructure for residents with clear links between the residents, the Council, Ward Action Groups and the Ward Police.
I understand that the precise nature of LBHF’s plans to support the existing provision for ASB response are still under consideration. Central West BCU will continue to work closely with LBHF to ensure cohesive, supportive and dynamic partnership working.

Whole System Approach to Female Offending – South London Alliance

Susan Hall: How has your £1,606,173 of funding from 2016 over 3 years helped to put in place, via the Whole System Approach to Female Offending – South London Alliance an approach to support female offenders & those at risk of offending in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Sutton & Wandsworth? Please provide details.

The Mayor: The funding of £1,606,173 over a three-year period, commenced in April 2018/19. It has helped put into place an innovative Whole Systems Approach model that tests a gender responsive multi-agency approach for women that are at risk of offending or are involved in the Criminal Justice System. The model seeks to address the multiple and complex needs these women often have by bringing together criminal justice, statutory and third sector agencies, to provide holistic support, which recognises and responds to women’s distinct needs, including experience of abuse. The model is using existing resources differently to target support more effectively, avoiding gaps or duplication in service provision, and supporting women to access provision successfully so that they can turn their lives around and reduce reoffending.

Cleaner Buses (2)

Leonie Cooper: How many of the buses that run through:
Merton


Wandsworth
That are not fully electric or hybrid, have been retrofitted since May 2016 to meet the diesel Euro VI compliance?

The Mayor: Over the last five years, significant improvements have been made to the entire bus fleet across London. Following an upgrade and vehicle replacement programme, 100 per cent of the core bus fleet across all boroughs, including Merton and Wandsworth, meets the ultra-clean Euro VI engine emission standard or better,.
Since May 2016, around 310 buses in Merton have been retrofitted to meet Euro VI compliance. Over the same period in Wandsworth, around 340 buses have been retrofitted to meet the latest emission standard.
The emissions profile of the fleet will get increasingly cleaner as zero-emission numbers grow from the current 455 to around 700 by the end of 2021. Subject to a sustainable funding deal from the Department for Transport, TfL hopes to make the fleet entirely zero-emission by no later than 2037, with an ambition to bring this deadline forward with external support.

Good Work Standard

Susan Hall: Has your 2018 £44m commitment to make women & girls safer in London resulted in the successful roll-out of the Good Work Standard, ensuring abuse is not tolerated in the workplace? How widespread has the roll-out been in London workplaces? Please provide current data.

The Mayor: My Good Work Standard was included in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy but is not funded by the £44m you reference. The Strategy asked businesses to sign up to the Standard and provide better workplace support for victims of violence against women and girls and set zero tolerance policies for abuse in the workplace.
As part of the Strategy MOPAC provided advice and supported the development of my Good Work Standard and led by example in rolling out best practice approaches across the GLA Group. As a result, the Good Work Standard promotes night-time safety through the Women’s Night Safety Charter and adoption of policies on domestic violence and Violence Against Women and Girls.
There are 93 accredited Good Work Standard employers employing 213,000 Londoners.

Taxis and wheelchair accessibility

David Kurten: Are you aware that less than 0.5% (half a percent) of all private hire vehicles are wheelchair accessible (and most of those are school run mini buses)? What will you do to see that London’s ageing and disabled population can get around if there are no purpose built wheelchair accessible taxis in the future, because they’ve been priced out of the market?

The Mayor: Transport for London publishes, and regularly updates, a list of licensed private hire vehicles (PHVs) that are wheelchair accessible here: www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/passengers-and-accessibility. The latest list contains details of 522 wheelchair accessible PHVs out of an overall fleet of 77,783 (equating to around 0.7 per cent of the fleet).
These vehicles are supplemented by the current fleet of more than 13,600 taxis – all of which are wheelchair accessible and have a number of additional features, including a large interior passenger compartment, a doorway not less than 1.2mhigh, visible grab handles, intermediate steps and induction loops.
Taxis and wheelchair accessible PHVs are not required to pay the Congestion Charge.
As I make clear in MQ 2021/1202, I am confident that taxis will continue to play a role in London’s future transport offering.

Safer Neighbourhood Boards (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: How many times have each of London’s Safer Neighbourhood Boards met since January 2020? Please break this down by month.

The Mayor: Throughout the pandemic Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNBs) have continued to work closely with police and local authorities, providing practical assistance including the circulation of weekly updates and safety advice from the police. They also remain active on social media. The SNBs have been meeting online and virtually and the table below shows the number of meetings and the dates they met.
SNB
Number of meetings[1]
Date of meeting
Barking & Dagenham
1
3 September
Barnet
2
25 February
20 October
Bexley
1
February 2020
Brent
4
12 March
11 June
7 October
2 December
Bromley
SNB 1
Executive 2
27 January
12 March
2 December
Camden
SNB 2
Executive 3
SNB
27 January
7 December
Executive
24 February
18 June
21 April
Croydon
1
19 March
Ealing
2
22 October
11 January
Enfield
3
22 July
21 October
13 January 2021
Greenwich
1
19 March
Hackney
4
10 February
2 June
8 September
14 December
Hammersmith & Fulham
-
Under review pending outcome of local Policing and Crime Commission. In the interim local police have continued to bring together Ward Panel and Neighbourhood Watch chairs/coordinators.
Haringey
4
SNBs
30 January
7 May
7 July
15 October
Executive
20 March
12 June
18 September
11 December
Harrow
1
22 June
Havering
4
10 March
21 July
14 September
14 December
Hillingdon
4
23 February
25 May
28 September
30 November
Hounslow
4
09 March
15 June
07 September
15 December
Islington
1
17 September
Kensington & Chelsea
SNB 1
Executive 4
SNB
21 January
Executive
7 January
3 June
11 August
15th December
Kingston
3
2 March
7 September
7 December
Lambeth
1
8 January 2020
Lewisham
SNB 4
Executive 5
SNB
14 January
3 March
22 September
1 December
Executive
4 February
12 May
16 June
4 August
27 October
Merton
4
19 February
16 June
16 September
2 December
Newham
SNB 2
Executive 7
20 February
16 April
Executive
6 February
5 March
9 April
21 May
20 July
14 October
26 October
Redbridge
3
22 January
27 May 2020
9 September
27 January 2021
Richmond
3
28 January
28 July
28 October
Southwark
SNB 2
Executive 2
11 November
16 December
04 March
30 September
Sutton
3
16 January
03 June
09 October
Tower Hamlets
4
20 January
20 July
21 September
18 November
Waltham Forest
3
28 January
20 August
24 November
Wandsworth
4
16 January
3 March
11 June
12 October
15 December
Westminster
-
Currently inactive. The local police have continued to engage with Ward Panel and Neighbourhood Watch chairs/coordinators.
[1] SNBs are expected to hold at least one public meeting per year

Affordable Housing & Viability Supplementary Planning Guidance (5)

Susan Hall: As referenced in your 2018 press release entitled “Mayor’s new planning rules to boost affordable housing”, have your key housing associations & council partners delivered programmes of 60% or more affordable housing, backed by funding from your £3.15bn investment deal with the Government? If not, what are the reasons for this failure?

The Mayor: My team is in regular discussion with housing delivery partners to provide funding support from the AH settlement that will maximise pipeline housing programmes across London. Key Strategic Partners are expected to achieve 60% affordable homes in their wider development programmes to 2023 and my approach has seen a boost in the volume of genuinely affordable homes being delivered, with 2019-20 showing highest number of affordable homes started in London since GLA records began in 2002/3.

Direct Vision Standard

Alison Moore: Following MQ 2020/0641 can you provide monthly data for March 2020 to January 2021?

The Mayor: Please see my answer to question 2021/0473.

Coronavirus vaccinations for prisoners

Siân Berry: According to figures reported by HM Prison and Probation Service, it appears that the number of prisoners contracting coronavirus doubled during January 2021. Given the infection risk posed to prisoners, staff, and subsequently the families of staff, do you agree it would be efficient and effective to vaccinate all members of a prison population at the same time, and will you lobby the Government to vaccinate prisoners in this way?

The Mayor: I continue to support the JCVIs recommendation to prioritises groups which at most at risk of serious illness or death of Covid-19
The JCVI recommends that phase two includes the roll out of the vaccine to others delivering key public services, which I welcome, and which should include prioritisation of key workers, who might be more vulnerable to infection due to the public-facing nature of their work and because they cannot work from home.
In order to protect our key workers, we need the Government to rapidly accelerate the vaccine roll-out.
However, given the exceptional circumstances of a closed detained setting, I support the HMPPS, NHSE and PHE advocacy to JCVI of the importance of a whole prison approach to vaccination, which should include all staff and all residents, to mitigate health inequalities and ensure clinical time is used efficiently in administration of the vaccine.

London Fire Brigade youth outreach

Siân Berry: In the London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe’s response letter, dated 10 January 2021 responding to questions from the Budget & Performance Committee on 10 December 2020, he provided more detail on changes to community outreach and youth services provided by the London Fire Brigade. Can you tell me what work you have carried out to ensure that GLA youth programmes are fulfilling their aims?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is carrying out ongoing work with the GLA and its large network of youth organisations to ensure that referral pathways are in place to mitigate the impact of the Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) programme disbanding. This isso that young people can be referred to a wider provision of organisations that address anti-social behaviour, other than fire and related risks, such as road and water safety. This includes working with the Mayor’s Peer Outreach Team to introduce an online referral pathway with over 500 organisations that work with children and young people across London to ensure that LFBis able torefer any young people they interact with to receive appropriate support from specialist youth organisations. Fire Cadets has also recently launched virtually in all 33 London Boroughs for the first time.

Transport for London policy on biodiversity (2)

Caroline Russell: London Underground alone has 10 per cent of the wildlife habitat in London on their land, and Transport for London (TfL) has a huge impact on the environment across the City. What steps is TfL taking to avoid tree loss, particularly mature trees?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) recognises the positive roles trees, especially mature trees, play within London and for the transport system, including providing homes to wildlife, and providing shade, shelter and a wellbeing boost to Londoners. There are instances when vegetation removal is required in relation to TfL’s legal obligations, such as invasive species management or the safe and efficient running of the transport system. For example, trees might need to be removed where they have been assessed as being at risk of falling on to roads or tracks. However, through its management system processes TfL seeks to protect, connect and enhance wildlife habitats, including mature trees, where practicable to do so.
Prior to the pandemic, TfL was on track to meet my Transport Strategy target of a 1 per cent annual increase in street tree numbers between 2016 and 2025. The pandemic has impacted TfL’s ability to plant new trees, but it is aiming to get back on track in this regard as we seek a green recovery from the pandemic. In addition, TfL continues to explore opportunities to create new green infrastructure more generally as part of its projects and maintenance operations to contribute towards the green infrastructure goals detailed within my Transport and Environment Strategies.

Transport for London policy on biodiversity (1)

Caroline Russell: Transport for London (TfL) issued a Biodiversity Action Plan for London Underground in 2010, have there been any updates or further progress on biodiversity policies since then?

The Mayor: Although a decade has passed since the publication of the London Underground Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), the principles behind it (Lawton review “Making Space for Nature”) remain not only sound but of even greater significance today (as detailed in the recent Dasgupta review “The Economics of Biodiversity”). Since its publication, Transport for London (TfL) has evolved as an organisation and so have the polices that TfL adheres to.
Both my Transport and Environment Strategies contain policies to deliver a net gain in biodiversity. TfL has developed an innovative biodiversity baseline map of its entire estate, as well as new processes and procedures, such as a biodiversity toolkit and new biosecurity policy within its management system. It is also working to develop a natural capital account. Together, these will help TfL to implement and track progress against Mayoral goals and help meet future Environment Act requirements.

Transport for London policy on biodiversity (3)

Caroline Russell: Constituents have raised concerns with me over the lack of information available to them before trees and vegetation are removed by contractors working for Transport for London (TfL). What steps will you take to improve communication with local residents, businesses and other stakeholders when trees and vegetation are at risk of removal?

The Mayor: TfL only removes street trees without notice when immediate safety concerns are highlighted. This is usually because of disease, decay or death. 7-day notices are applied when trees need to be removed following insurance advice, highway safety issues, or because they are damaging other people’s property. In the event of a removal due to road space change, the schemes are normally consulted on within the local community. There are no plans to alter the notification or consultation timelines as they are consistent with national guidance.
With regards to trackside trees and vegetation on the London Underground network, TfL is currently carrying out essential vegetation management works across the Tube network to address safety concerns and maintain a safe railway for the travelling public, staff and residents. TfL prioritises notifying local residents in cases where significant levels (for instance more than three consecutive shifts) of targeted vegetation/tree clearance are due to be carried out in a particular area. No such targeted works are planned over the coming year.

Improvements in Air Quality Putney High St (1)

Leonie Cooper: Prior to and following the introduction of the Low Emission Bus Zones could you give the date on which Putney High Street broke legal limits on air quality in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020?

The Mayor: Between 2016 and 2019, with the introduction of the Low Emission Bus Zone at Putney High Street in March 2017 the annual mean NO2 concentrations reduced by 45 per cent and exceedances of the hourly mean limit reduced by 99 per cent. There are two air pollution monitoring stations along Putney High Street.
The hourly average NO2 limit value was breached in 2017 and 2018 (for site WA7) and 2019 (for site WA8), with the following number of hourly means recorded above 200µg/m3:
The annual average NO2 limit value (40 µg/m3) was breached every year between 2017 and 2020 at both sites, with the following averages recorded:
The annual and daily average PM10 limit values were not breached between 2017 and 2020.

Food delivery company commission rates

Caroline Russell: A landlord of a pub in south London has written to me expressing concern about delivery companies potentially profiteering from the coronavirus restrictions pubs and restaurants find themselves under. According to them, just after London was put into a Tier 4 lockdown forcing pubs and restaurants to close to in-house dining, a mainstream delivery company increased its commission for new accounts from 25 per cent to 35 per cent. When VAT is factored in, this commission works out at 42 per cent per order, leaving pubs and restaurants relatively little to cover their outgoings as they struggle to stay afloat. What work have you done to ensure food delivery companies are not profiting unfairly at the expense of London’s hard-hit hospitality sector?

The Mayor: Delivery companies have been a lifeline for the struggling hospitality industry throughout the pandemic, but the fees charged for these services do add to the costs of the hospitality industry during these tough times. I have been engaging with the hospitality industry and am doing all that I can to support our pubs and wider hospitality industry through the pandemic and into recovery.
I have stressed in my engagement with the delivery sector that it is important that independent businesses be treated fairly, particularly at the current time, when many depend on online delivery services to survive. I also launched the London Business Hub which provides advice, resources and funding opportunities for small businesses dealing with the challenges of the pandemic. My Pay It Forward Scheme also provides a means through which Londoners can buy goods and services in advance directly from their favourite local and independent businesses struggling with Covid-19.

Tier 2 in London (1)

Leonie Cooper: What support is the Government providing London’s businesses under the latest Tier 2 restrictions announced on 26 November 2020? Can you break this down by sector?

The Mayor: The government has put in place several business support schemes. Some are specific to certain sectors and tier level, whilst other schemes are available regardless of sector or tiers. The details of the schemes change regularly and businesses are advised to check the government business support checker (https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder).
Support provided regardless of tiers and sector
TheCoronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough Scheme) Employees receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. The £2,500 cap is proportional to the hours not worked. The scheme is flexible and can be used for any time or shift pattern. Furloughing employees on either a full-time or part-time basis. Employers only cover National Insurance and pension contributions. TheCJRSwill remain open until 31 April 2021.
Sick pay to employees Businesses with fewer than 250 employees (as of 28 February 2020) can reclaim up to two weeks' Statutory Sick Pay per employee if the employee was off work because they had coronavirus, was self-isolating or shielding providing the staff member was on the payroll on 28 February 2020.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme(CBILS) The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses adversely affected by coronavirus to access loans and other forms of finance up to £5 million. The government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender and pays interest and any fees for the first 12 months. Theschemeis open until 31 March 2021.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme This scheme supports the self-employed and members of partnerships who has seen a significant reduction in trading profits. The scheme is now on its third taxable grant covering 1 November 2020 to 29 January 2021, worth 80% of average monthly trading profits. The grant is paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits and capped at £7,500 in total.
Sector specific support provided regardless of tier level
VAT reduction to 5% for hospitality businesses. The temporary reduced rate will apply to supplies that are made between 15 July 2020 and 31 March 2021.
Business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses The government introduced a 12-month business rates holiday for all businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Businesses that meet the criteria will have automatically received a new 2020/2021 bill with a full reduction from 18 March 2020.
Local Restrictions Support Grant (LSRG (Sector)) for businesses closed since March for example, nightclubs, sexual entertainment. This support starts 1stNovember but will now roll into the National Restrictions (lockdown) grants. It is worth up to £1500 for every 14-day period of closure.
Additional Restrictions Grant £1.1bn given to Local Authorities, distributed based on £20 per headto support businesses at local authority discretion.
Christmas Support Payment (CSP) for wet-led pubs The CSP for wet-led pubs supports pubs that predominantly serve alcohol rather than provide food and have been severely impacted over the festive season due to temporary local restrictions. Eligible businesses may be entitled to a one-off cash grant of £1,000 from their local council in areas under Tier 2 or Tier 3 local restrictions.
There are several other minor schemes to support businesses such as HMRC’s ‘Time to Pay’ scheme for those struggling to pay their taxes.
Support available in Tier 2 areas
Under Tier 2 the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) supports business that are open. Local Authorities to determine which businesses are eligible for grant funding in their local areas, and what precise funding to allocate to each business. There is a formula to calculate the allocation to boroughs.
London was subject to local restrictions prior to national restrictions and will remain eligible forTier2 grants for this period (17thOctober – 4thNovember)
I have called on the government to extend support or risk mass business failure. Much of the support does not reflect London’s unique circumstances, where business costs, including rent, are much higher than the national average.

Scrappage Schemes and Charities

Leonie Cooper: How many charities have been helped by the scrappage schemes for the ULEZ? What percentage of the total number of applicants is this? Please provide a breakdown by scheme.

The Mayor: As part of its approval process for all my ULEZ scrappage schemes, Transport for London (TfL) checks that applicants meet the relevant eligibility requirements. Under the van and minibus scrappage scheme, this will include confirming if the application is from a charity.
TfL verifies whether applicants are charities, micro businesses or sole traders as part of the application approval process. Evidence of this is held within each application form, however TfL’s system simply records if an application meets the scheme’s requirements. TfL therefore does not store a breakdown of how many charities have been helped by the van and minibus scrappage scheme.

Protecting Londoners From ‘Thought Crime’ Policing (1)

David Kurten: With reference to your answer to my question MQ2020/1050, it concerns methat non-crime hate incidents are criminalising people for expressingtheir opinions within the law and this was not recognised in youranswer. For instance, Harry Miller, that Mr Justice Julian Knowlesconcluded his tweets were: “lawful and that there was not the slightestrisk that he would commit a criminal offence by continuing to tweet”.Does the Metropolitan Police Service recognise the fundamental rightthat people who have expressed opinions within the law should not becriminalised in this way and have non-crime hate incident allegationsrecorded against them?
Ref:https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/1050

The Mayor: People are not criminalised over a non-crime incident and therefore the premise of the question is wrong. As I stated in MQ 2020/1052, recording hate crime incidents helps the police to build an intelligence picture with regard to community tensions and the risks of incidents escalating into hate crimes and is supported by College of Policing guidance.

Incident Command Training

Andrew Dismore: How many London Fire Brigade staff have undertaken the Incident Command Training at each level? How many remain to be validated at each level?

The Mayor: As of 10 March 2021, there are 1483 Level 1 Incident Commanders. Of these, 982 have completed an accredited initial course or have had previous training revalidated.
There are 205 Level 2 Incident Commanders. Of these, 137 have completed an accredited initial course or have had previous training revalidated.
There are 16 Level 3 Incident Commanders. All 16 have attended either an accredited initial course or have completed an assessed course.
There are nine Level 4 Incident Commanders. All nine have attended either an accredited initial course or have completed an assessed course.

Van scrappage scheme

Caroline Pidgeon: TfL’s website currently states that “Due to unprecedented demand and limited funds, the Scrappage Scheme is currently suspended for van applications.” Will you clarify whether the scheme will re-open for van applications as is suggested by the repeated use of the term ‘suspended’ by TfL, as opposed to ‘ended”?

The Mayor: The Scrappage Scheme has committed over £30 million for van and charity minibus owners since the scheme launched in February 2019, taking thousands of polluting vehicles off London’s roads and supporting sole traders, micro and small businesses and charities across London.
Applications were suspended for van owners on 28 August 2020 due to unprecedented demand and limited funding available. Eligible charities may still apply for the grant to scrap non-compliant minibuses (up to 5 tonnes gross vehicle weight), given their vital role in our communities, especially in the current coronavirus pandemic.
I have made a further £4.24 million of funding available to reduce the number of van scrappage applications in the queue and to provide further support to the ULEZ Car and Motorcycle Scrappage Scheme bringing the total across all the schemes to £52 million. I will continue to call on Government to support London’s businesses to play their part in cleaning up London’s air quality by funding a national scrappage scheme.

Star rating system for lorries and Vision Zero action plan (5)

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2019/17397. How many HGVs operating in London do you currently estimate to be achieving each of the ratings, from zero stars to five stars, of your Direct Vision Standard (DVS)?

The Mayor: In recent weeks Transport for London (TfL) has seen a significant increase in the volume of applications received for the Direct Vision Standard (DVS) scheme as vehicle operators prepare for enforcement of the scheme from 1 March 2021.
TfL issues a permit to all vehicles that are compliant with the DVS scheme. Up to 11 March 2021, 106,278 permits have been issued which is equivalent to an average of 60 per cent of HGVs seen in the zone on a daily basis. However, the monitoring system used to gather vehicles identified in the zone tracks whether the vehicle has a permit or not and does not hold information on the specific star rating of the vehicle. TfL holds the star rating information on a separate database and the table below shows a breakdown of the star rating for all permits issued.
Permits issued as at 11 March 2021
DVS Star Rating
Total Permits
0
46,630
1
35,194
2
11,781
3
8,012
4
1,008
5
3,653
Total Permits
106,278

London Traffic Speeds

Tony Devenish: Please provide the average annual speed of motorised traffic in London in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The Mayor: The table attached contains the average weekday speeds and delay trends on the network of interest. The network of interest contains all the major roads, plus busy minor roads, and all roads that buses travel on.
The average speed has been weighted by vehicle flow by time period and area of London for working days of the week only.
The data is supplied to all London highway authorities from a Department for Transport (DfT) contact and consists of Traffic Master GPS processed/adjusted in accordance with DfT instructions issued in April 2009 and corrected for BST issue. The data is supplied by DfT to Transport for London six months in arrears so the full data for 2020 has not yet been processed.
Footnotes:

The Mayor: 0749 Table.pdf

Transport in Hammersmith & Fulham During Covid (3)

Tony Devenish: What measures have been taken and are being taken to measure cycle usage, bus usage and motor vehicle usage in Hammersmith & Fulham during the Covid pandemic? Please provide the data that is being collected and break it down by month in 2020 so it is possible to see what has happened during the temporary traffic measures.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not specifically monitor network performance on a borough basis. Its monitoring is aligned to strategic corridors on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN). For Hammersmith and Fulham, this primarily relates to monitoring of the A40 and A4 which pass through the Borough. Changes to traffic flows on those corridors (by financial period) compared to the previous year) are set out below.
Changes in Average Daily weekday vehicle kms on the A4 corridor by Period.
P1
Changes in Average Daily weekday vehicle kms on the A40 corridor by Period.
Similarly, for cycling, TfL is collecting a wide range of data on changes on vehicle and cycle use on London roads strategically across London, and produces regular reports showing these trends. The sampling framework for changes in cycle flows contained in the TfL cycle report does not include any locations on the A4 or A40 or borough roads within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
TfL continues to work with the boroughs to help them improve their data collection and is currently examining several technology options to provide more granular data, including coverage of borough roads.
TfL also continues to monitor patronage on all its bus services to see if it can be optimised further around where passengers want to go and interchange. This helps ensure resources are in the right place so running the network at 100 per cent capacity provides the greatest social distancing benefits across routes. This has to be done on a London-wide rather than borough basis so that as many customers benefit as possible.
Regarding Hammersmith & Fulham’s South Fulham Traffic, Congestion and Pollution Reduction trial scheme, data published by the council shows that traffic has reduced by 75% in the streets to the east of Wandsworth Bridge Road and by 12% on Wandsworth Bridge Road itself, when comparing figures from September 2019 and September 2020.

Anti-Semitic incidents

Tony Devenish: Daniel Kosky of the London Jewish Forum recently sent me statistics showing that London accounts for 56% of all recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the UK. What are you as Mayor doing to tackle this horrid issue?

The Mayor: I share your concern at the levels of hate crime targeted at London’s Jewish communities. Both the Commissioner and I take anti-Semitism very seriously and have taken significant steps to address it. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), working with organisations such as the Community Security Trust (CST) and the Shomrim, have developed reassurance and preventative policing plans across London. This includes recognition by Local Policing Teams of the dates of Jewish High Holy days to heighten awareness for the potential of hate crime incidents, enabling an increased police presence and outreach in vulnerable locations, such as places of worship and transport hubs.
At the same time, I have invested more than any other Mayor to tackle hate, intolerance and extremism. My Shared Endeavour Fund supports projects delivered by civil society groups including The Anne Frank Trust UK, The Union of Jewish Students, Maccabi GB, Salaam Peace and The Arc Theatre Ensemble, who specifically cover anti-Semitism in their projects. I’ve also increased the investment in supporting victims of hate crime when it does occur, including specialist support for victims of anti-Semitic hate crime.

Fraud

Tony Devenish: Research published by the Police Foundation shows that fraud is estimated to make up 31 per cent of all crime in England and Wales, and that 45 per cent of victims felt that the financial loss they experienced had an impact on their emotional wellbeing and 37 per cent reported a significant psychological or emotional impact. What are you doing to give London victims of fraud justice and to prevent more people being victims of this crime?

The Mayor: Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud, run by The City of London Police. All fraud referrals disseminated from Action Fraud to the Met are initially investigated. The vulnerability of victims is considered alongside potential investigative opportunities. The Met provides pan-London specialist omni-competent investigators trained in fraud and financial investigation.
The Met works with Action Fraud and the London Victim and Witness Service to ensure that the most vulnerable London victims receive the necessary support and safeguarding as well as to provide information and advice to prevent re-victimisation.
In addition to this, the Met regularly create safety messaging related to fraud. A recent example being the creation and promotion of a video explaining what to look out for online to avoid becoming a victim of Covid vaccine fraud.

LFB Contracts with Chinese Companies

Shaun Bailey: How many contracts does the London Fire Brigade (LFB) have with companies that are based in China and please list them?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade does not have any contracts with companies that are based in China.

London Population

Shaun Bailey: What is the current population of London?

The Mayor: The most recent official estimate of London’s resident population is 8,962,000. This figure relates to the population as it was at the mid-year point of 2019. Official estimates for mid-year 2020 are scheduled for release in June 2021.
Measuring recent population change has been made more difficult by disruption caused by the pandemic to the methods used to monitor migration flows, particularly the suspension of the International Passenger Survey.
While there have been a number of recent reports in the media about a large fall in London’s population since the start of the pandemic, there remains a lack of reliable evidence to support such claims and the GLA’s City Intelligence Unit has advised that these be treated with great caution at this time.

Underlying Health Issues in Londoners

Tony Devenish: Public debate since March 2020 on COVID-19 has used the phrase “underlying health issues” a great deal. Can you please define this phrase, with a breakdown of how many Londoners suffer from “underlying health issues” and specifically how your policies have impacted these Londoners since May 2016.

The Mayor: Underlying or pre-existing health conditions are chronic conditions which usually require long-term treatment. They include conditions which affect physical and mental health, such as diabetes and schizophrenia. They can weaken the immune system putting people at greater risk of serious complications and death from diseases like COVID.
There is no publicly available data showing how many Londoners have underlying health conditions. At the start of February, there were 326,000 Londoners shielding from COVID due to a medical condition, but this is only a small subset of those with pre-existing health conditions.
Many of these underlying health conditions are preventable, which is why my Health Inequalities Strategy focuses on tackling the determinants of poor health .One such example of action was the ULEZ, which has seen air pollution dramatically reduce which will have long-term impacts on preventing the development of, and mortality from, respiratory conditions. Progress in the first year of the Strategy implementation is outlined in the annual report.
Supporting information:
The list of groups seen to be clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable to covid are published here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/whos-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/#:~:text=People%20at%20moderate%20risk%20(,(such%20as%20hepatitis)
Data on the number of Londoners classified as clinically extremely vulnerable and being asked to shield is reproduced here https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/shielded-patient-list-open-data-set
For more information about the Mayor’s Health Inequalities Strategy and the annual report refer to https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/health/london-health-inequalities-strategy
For a recent report on the health impacts of the Mayor’s air quality policies refer to https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/london_health_burden_of_current_air_pollution_and_future_health_benefits_of_mayoral_air_quality_policies_january2020.pdf

Palliative Care

Tony Devenish: In light of the pandemic, how are you working with partners across London to improve palliative care?

The Mayor: The NHS London Palliative and End of Life Clinical Network has led a range of initiatives to support London’s communities during the pandemic. These include developing: a pan-London electronic medication authorisation and administration record chart for symptom control in people’s homes; a systematic search tool to help GPs to identify people in their last year of life; a COVID-19 primary care toolkit with support for compassionate conversations, guidance from community specialist palliative care, assistance with care after death and information for care homes; a specialist palliative care peer support network to share challenges and learning; and the collation of innovative clinical practice and research which has been shared with stakeholders to spread and adopt across London.
The GLA has worked collaboratively with the London Clinical Networks and other partners as part of a coordinated bereavement response.

24m cleaner vehicles funding (2)

Susan Hall: What is the evidence that your £24m cleaner vehicles funding is on track to enable 2,000 additional drivers to go green & for more than 5,000 drivers to benefit from the funding overall?

The Mayor: Please see my response to MQ 2021/1278.

24m cleaner vehicles funding (1)

Susan Hall: Since your announcement in 2019 heralding £24m of funding to enable more black cab drivers to switch to electric vehicles, have 1,000 drivers benefitted from the maximum £10,000 payment for trading in their more polluting vehicles?

The Mayor: Yes. In fact, we exceeded this with 1,250 delicensing payments of £10,000 paid to vehicle owners of older, more polluting taxis.
In total, more than 4,000 delicensing payments have been made, equating to more than £34m support for the taxi trade.
I applaud the efforts made by the taxi trade to clean up the taxi fleet with almost 4,000 zero emission capable (ZEC) taxis joining the London fleet.

Bullsmoor Lane LEZ Exemption

Joanne McCartney: Bullsmoor Lane in Enfield is currently exempt from the LEZ which leads to increased congestion and pollution for local residents. With Junction 25 of the M25 improvements likely to bring more HGVs onto local streets, will you reconsider this exemption?

The Mayor: The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) boundary arrangements in the Bullsmoor Lane area have been in place since the scheme was introduced in 2008. It is one of a number of points around the boundary where these arrangements are necessary to allow suitable diversion routes or turnaround points so that drivers can avoid entering the zone.
Transport for London is working closely with Highways England to ensure the benefits of their M25 J25 Improvements Scheme, such as reducing congestion and minimising environmental impacts, are delivered.

84.8m police funding (2)

Susan Hall: How many new police officers have been recruited in the Met Police since your injection of £84.8m police funding in 2019?

The Mayor: The funding of £84.8m in 2019-20 was allocated across a broad range of areas that included officers, staff and vital equipment. The investment allowed for an additional 300 police officers than would otherwise have been affordable.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has recruited over 4,500 new recruits since September 2019.

84.8m police funding (4)

Susan Hall: What state-of-the-art equipment has been purchased from your £84.8m police funding in 2019? What was its purpose & how has it since been providing value for money?

The Mayor: The additional £84.8m funding in 2019/20 was provided to invest in additional officers and staff and the crime fighting tools they need. As part of this, the funding helped to support investment in the tools and techniques available to frontline officers to investigate crime, including fingerprinting, rapid drug testing, cutting edge capabilities to deal with digital investigations, and advanced techniques to combat child sexual exploitation online.

Increased minor road traffic

Caroline Russell: Department for Transport (DfT) road traffic estimates have been revised upwards, after a benchmarking exercise to review minor road traffic flows. What work has Transport for London (TfL) undertaken to review their modelling and data in light of this revision?

The Mayor: The revisions to the Department for Transport (DfT) data result from a national-scale statistical benchmarking exercise. As such, the revisions do not reflect a ‘real’ change or trend in London. Measurements made by Transport for London (TfL) show broad stability in both major and minor road traffic over the same period.
The scale and nature of DfT’s new estimates, notably the absence of any similar adjustment to major road traffic, mean that it is not appropriate for TfL to adopt these new estimates without considering other traffic data available to TfL. TfL traffic models are primarily calibrated against real world traffic counts and data, and so the implications of the DfT revisions for TfL’s models are thought to be minimal.
TfL is currently reviewing its key statistics potentially affected by this change, with a view to reporting in Travel in London Report 14 towards the end of 2021.

6.8m Violence Reduction Funding

Susan Hall: How has your £6.8m Violence Reduction Funding been tackling all forms of violence in the capital since 2019?

The Mayor: In 19/20, the VRU had a budget of £14.8m of which the Mayor contributed £7.8m, and in 20/21, the VRU had a budget of £19.7m of which the Mayor contributed £12.1m. The VRU has invested in a wide range of programmes designed to stop the spread of violence. This includes putting youth workers in London hospitals, tackling school exclusions across 16 boroughs, training doctors to better identify and support victims of domestic violence, supporting grassroots organisations across London, expanding our work with parents and families, and funding to help all 32 boroughs reduce violence. Key to all this activity is the engagement and insight of young people and I am very proud of the work of the VRU’s Young People’s Action Group.

Statutory Sick Pay

Leonie Cooper: What discussions have you had with the Government about increasing Statutory Sick Pay for Londoners so that low paid Londoners can afford to self-isolate if required?

The Mayor: I have repeatedly called on the Government to act on Sick Pay, I think low paid Londoners should receive their full pay wherever possible if they need to self-isolate. In my recent submission to the Chancellor ahead of the March 3rd budget, I called for support for Londoners to self-isolate as part of a package of measures essential to support London through the immediate crisis.

Mental Health Crisis -Children and Young People

Navin Shah: Everyone acknowledges the need to urgently address the rapid and devastating mental health crisis affecting children and young people and the support they require as a result of the pandemic crisis. As it is, even before the pandemic the support was too little. As the figures are devastating and impacting on a whole new generation, urgent action is required. What can and must the Government do? And, what you are doing within your power to help the children and young people affected by the mental health crisis?

The Mayor: I work with London’s schools, early years settings and all boroughs to support young Londoners’ mental health through Healthy Schools London, Healthy Early Years London and by sharing the updated Schools Mental Health Toolkit. I continue to work with Thrive LDN to roll out the Youth MMFA programme, and am working with the NHS to promote awareness of CAMHS support.
My Young Londoners Fund supports over 300 youth projects which will reach 110,000 vulnerable young Londoners by December 2022, with many projects focusing on mental health.
I have provided funding to Good Thinking, London’s digital mental health and wellbeing service, to support its expansion for children and young people.
I urge the government to accelerate the roll out of Mental Health Support Teams, ensuring that every young person has access to this support as soon as possible. While Healthy London Partnership are doing what they can to fill the gaps, it is the government that needs to act here – now more urgently than ever.

Vaccine Up Take

Onkar Sahota: Through conversations with London Councils and local authorities, which boroughs are you most concerned about with regards to vaccine uptake?

The Mayor: I am pleased that over 1.7 million doses of the vaccine have now been given to Londoners. This is an incredible achievement by the NHS, but we are all aware that we cannot be complacent. There is ongoing work to do to ensure that all vulnerable people in the capital have access to the vaccine and are encouraged to take up the offer. There are groups of Londoners who will need additional support to access the vaccine, and we know from ongoing insight that there are communities who have doubts about having it.
Local authorities continue to be at the forefront of our pan-London work to support the roll out. We continue to work with them closely, alongside PHE and the NHS, to develop messaging and resources that will reach our diverse communities. Many boroughs are also hosting direct conversations with their local communities, and the partnership is supporting and complimenting this work with a number of pan-London events.
The NHS has just started to publish vaccine numbers at a CCG level, and this information will be useful in helping partners across London target their messaging, resources, and support.

Facilitating socially distanced democratic protests (3)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answers to my questions 2020/2646 and 2020/3327. There has been great confusion about the legality of protests during the ongoing coronavirus crisis and now, during this period of new national restrictions, Government has been clear that the larger gathering exemption for protests has been removed. Are you, MOPAC and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) developing guidance to inform and facilitate socially distanced democratic protests in each of the Covid alert level tiers?

The Mayor: The rules around gatherings have changed repeatedly and each time the MPS has had to react quickly in order to make sure that large gatherings and protests are within the regulations and they are policed appropriately. During the Tier 2 restrictions the MPS published an open letter highlighting the legislation on gatherings and protest. The letter was shared with every protest group who contacted it about an intention to protest during that time. The MPS has amended that letter in light of the national restrictions now in place and continues to share it. When the regulations change again, the MPS will review exactly what the new legislation says and update the letter accordingly. A copy of the current letter is attached.

The Mayor: 3856 (1).pdf

Child-friendly London (2)

Nicky Gavron: What steps will you be taking to ensure that all children and young people will have locally accessible outdoor space to play?

The Mayor: Play space is crucial for the well-being of children and young people, and this has become even clearer through the pandemic.
My London Plan Policy S4 Play and informal recreation, requires all development likely to be used by children and young people to increase their opportunities to play and be independently mobile. Residential schemes should provide at least 10 square metres of good-quality, accessible play provision per child. Play and informal recreation space should be accessed safely from the street and not be segregated by tenure.
Also under the policy large public realm schemes should provide opportunities for play and informal recreation, and boroughs should incorporate play and informal recreation into their plans and strategies, identifying opportunities for increased provision.
My draft London Plan Guidance on Good Quality Housing for All Londoners and my Public Charter provide further details on the provision of play and informal recreation space, ensuring these spaces remain accessible and minimise exposure to poor environmental factors.

TfL diesel scrappage scheme for vans and minibuses

Alison Moore: For your light diesel van and minibus scrappage scheme, please state a) how many applications were received prior to 28 August 2020, b) how much grant has been committed and paid out, and c) how many vehicles in total have been replaced. Please break these figures down by borough if possible.

The Mayor: The scrappage scheme for vans and charity minibuses has been a huge success. I launched this fund to help small and micro-businesses and charities operating to clean up their fleets and comply with new emission standards. Due to unprecedented demand and limited funds, the scheme was closed to new business applications on the 28 August 2020 but remains open for applications from eligible charities operating minibuses.
Since the scheme launched in February 2019, Transport for London has received 19,115 applications for this scheme. As of the 10 November 2020, a total of £31.95m has been committed to successful applicants, with £17.9m of this issued in grant payments. A further £14m in grant payments will be released to the remaining successful applicants who complete the application process by submitting evidence that the vehicle has been scrapped, and, if applicable, replaced.
Van scrappage applicants have a seven-month window from applying to scrap their vehicle. Not all approved applicants complete the scrappage process. If the vehicle is not scrapped, the grant payment is not made to the owner and the funds are returned to the scrappage scheme. Out of the 2,871 vehicles scrapped to date, 2,415 vehicles were scrapped and replaced. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide a breakdown by borough.

Housing Need in London

Murad Qureshi: Do you believe the Government should rethink its proposed formula to determine housing need in local authorities across England?

The Mayor: Yes, as I set out in my response to the Government, its proposed standard method formula is not fit for purpose. It does not respond to the complexity of London’s housing needs and results in an undeliverable target for London. A method based mainly on population projections and affordability is too volatile to form a basis for planning. In areas of acute affordability problems it results in a need that is clearly undeliverable without the Government providing the tools to increase delivery and affordability, such as additional funding for infrastructure and affordable housing.
It is essential that new housing is focused on existing settlements to ensure development is sustainable and drives regeneration - and a revised formula is needed that works in all areas to support this. This must entail a significantly more sophisticated model to better reflect the reality of dense urban areas while also ensuring housing calculations do not discourage ambitious local authorities elsewhere in England.
My detailed response can be found on the web-site here https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mol_consultation_response_changes_to_current_planning_system.pdf

Resilience response to the pandemic

Andrew Dismore: What lessons have been learnt by the Strategic Coordination Group and Recovery Board from the second wave of COVID-19 in London and how will these be applied in the future?

The Mayor: The Strategic Coordinating Group has regularly revised its way of work to meet the changing situation throughout 2020 and 2021. The Recovery Board was itself set up in response to the changing circumstances. The London Resilience Forum has reviewed lessons from the first wave and at its recent meetings in November 2020 and February 2021 has endorsed follow up action.
The Recovery Board has built strong partnerships and collaboration with London’s leaders and has recognised that, with capacity stretched, they will need a degree of flexibility in delivering their response and recovery activities. The Mayor’s London Covid-19 Business Forum and the Recovery Board have responded to the need to reopen the economy early and safely with the establishment of a 12-month London economic recovery roadmap. The Resilience Forum of 25 February will consider a paper recommending a review of London’s approach to chronic, or long running incidents. The review will involve members of the London Recovery Board.

Public Toilets

Nicky Gavron: How many public toilets have been lost in London in the last 10 and 20 years?

The Mayor: Specific data on the loss or gain of public toilets is not monitored in planning applications. Removal of a toilet does not require planning permission unless the toilets have been secured through a planning permission or involves the demolition of a building or structure.
Publicly accessible toilets are integral to making town centres accessible, inclusive and viable hubs for a diverse range of uses. That is why my London Plan 2021 Policy ‘S6 Public Toilets’ requires that proposals for large-scale developments open to the public - such as shopping centres, leisure facilities and large areas of public realm - provide and secure the future management of free publicly-accessible toilets suitable for a range of users, and that free ‘Changing Places’ toilets are provided to ensure that the needs of specialist groups are met. In addition, my Good Growth investment is creating or refurbishing more than 250 toilet units, including more than 180 which are fully accessible in key locations across London.

HSE and LFB 2

Andrew Dismore: What learning will LFB be taking from the recent HSE inspections that took place? How will this impact upon frontline staff?

The Mayor: In response to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) recommendations following their recent COVID-19 inspections, London Fire Brigade (LFB) has taken several actions, including a review of the risk assessment foraspecific training course delivered at Brigade headquarters. This review has resulted in changes to the physical layout of the training room and other improvements to the delivery of thecourse.
LFB has reviewed COVID-19 risk assessments, including in dormitories, introduced no notice audits of COVID-19 arrangements on fire stations, and introduced a COVID-19 inspection section to regular health and safety premises inspections. LFB has now reviewed what training could be delivered via virtual platforms, which was completed in November 2020.

Hopper Fare

Joanne McCartney: How many of my constituents in Enfield & Haringey have benefited from the Hopper Fare? How much have they saved as a result of this policy?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not hold data that allows analysis of journeys by borough of residence. Instead it has analysed Hopper journeys by borough of boarding and found that, before Covid, on a typical day around 20,000 Hopper journeys were made starting in either Enfield or Haringey. This represents 7 per cent of all Hopper journeys in London.
TfL estimates that the people of Enfield and Haringey saved around £3m per annum pre-Covid due to previously paid-for bus interchanges becoming free.

COVID-19 and other firefighter duties

Andrew Dismore: What additional duties, that are not part of their normal duties, have firefighters being undertaking during the second wave of COVID-19 in London?

The Mayor: Ambulance Driver Assistance was scaled up at the end of December 2020 and over 400 firefighters volunteered to be part of the programme, with thosetaking part moving over to London Ambulance Service’s shift patterns. Other additional duties,which were agreed and undertaken in the first wave,remainavailable in the second wave based on requests from local authority partners. These include food and drink deliveries to food banks and vulnerable residents; assembly and distribution of PPE for the NHS; assistance in making masks; clothing deliveries for homeless people; and delivery of schoolwork to isolated pupils and those with special needs. More recently London Fire Brigade (LFB) staff have set up facilities to support mass vaccinations in Holland Park and staff are also assisting with Haringey Council’s Mobile Testing Unit set up at Tottenham Fire Station under ‘Operation Eagle’.There is also agreementwith London Region FBUfor LFB personnel to distribute Lateral Flow Test/home test kits to the community if required.

COVID-19 and operational cover

Andrew Dismore: How has COVID-19 impacted upon operational cover levels for LFB?

The Mayor: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, London Fire Brigade (LFB) has maintained operational cover levels pan-London, with appliance attendance times specified in the London Safety Plan being upheld

Former Police Sites Currently Advertised for Development

Caroline Pidgeon: There are several former police sites including the Tooting Police Station site and the Camberwell Police Station site advertised on your ‘small sites’ webpage. How are you working with the Met and boroughs to ensure that these properties and the conditions of their sale, wherever possible, are used for either affordable housing and/or provide some benefit to the local community?

The Mayor: MOPAC is under a duty to have regard to the principles of good value for money when disposing of property assets pursuant to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the Financial Management Code of Practice for Police Forces (October 2013). This is normally demonstrated by an unconditional sale in the open market, which gives opportunity for all to bid. Receipts generated from these disposals are then reinvested to support frontline operational policing need.
Imposing sale conditions, for example by requiring affordable housing, would be likely to increase holding costs and reduce a capital receipt which would be inconsistent with the duty to have regard to value for money. MOPAC does ask, however, that when bidding on MOPAC sites for residential development bidders have regard to relevant planning policies, including existing local authority policies on minimum affordable housing requirements, the Mayor's SPG on affordable housing, and the draft London Plan. Parties are encouraged to review the GLA funding available for the provision of affordable housing through the Mayor's 'Homes for Londoners: Affordable Homes Programme 2016-2021’.
Any change of use or development of the sold properties would need to be in line with local planning practice.

Westminster Police complaint locations

Murad Qureshi: Please provide the number of police complaints in Westminster in each of the last four years. Please provide details of the location of the incidents that led to these complaints being made, including which Council ward they took place in.

The Mayor: The number of police complaints in Westminster borough for the calendar years 2016-2018 inclusive was as follows:
Year
Number of allegations
Number of complaint cases
2016
690
282
2017
650
258
2018
704
257
Each individual complaint case may contain either one or multiple allegations.
From 2019 onwards the MPS introduced Basic Command Units (BCUs). Westminster was combined with the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea to form the new Central West BCU.
Since the introduction of BCUs complaint data cannot be broken down on a borough basis. The number of complaints in the Central West BCU in the calendar years 2019-2020 was as follows:
Year
Number of allegations
Number of complaint cases
2019
1003
547
2020
1850
627
It is not possible to report on which specific Council ward those incidents resulting in a public complaint took place in.

London Fire Brigade Control and Incident Command (1)

Andrew Dismore: How important is it that there is joined up working between control and incident command?

The Mayor: The relationship between control and incident command is critical to the safe and effective resolution of incidents. The exchange of information between the control room and the incident ground - and just as crucially back into control - is fundamental to the provision of shared situation awareness and effective multi-agency working.This is whyLondon Fire Brigade (LFB) has taken steps through the Control Improvement Plan and Incident Command Strategy to join up these crucial elements of operational response. Plans are now well developed to bring both a Command Unit and an ‘in house’ incident command team to the London Operations Centre (LOC) to facilitate joint training and foster more integrated working relationships. Joined up working between all the functions of the Operational Delivery Directorate is a priority and LFB expects to see improvements as that work embeds within the organisation.

Delivery drivers

Leonie Cooper: Has London seen a growth in delivery drivers since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020? Can you detail how many drivers have been taken on by a) hospitality; b) supermarkets, c) couriers?

The Mayor: My officers do not hold data on data on how many drivers have been newly employed by London’s sectors but do have data on the number of home deliveries. There has been a 30% increase in the number of home deliveries in 2020 as compared to 2019 (Home delivery volumes index, Mar-Sep 2020 https://content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-report-13.pdf). It is not clear that there has been a commensurate increase in delivery drivers since the beginning of the pandemic. Based on jobs postings data from Emsi, job postings for delivery drivers were lower in 2020 than in 2019. 3,788 in 2020 compared to 4,243 in 2019. The data is published here - https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/london-job-posting-analytics

ULEZ Expansion (1)

Keith Prince: Broken down by month, how much money has TfL spent on the expansion of the ULEZ?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) completes financial reporting on a four-weekly basis, 13 times a year. From the first consultation held in 2017 to the end of Period 10, ending 9 January 2021, the spend to date on the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) Expansion scheme was £62.1m. For a breakdown by reporting period,please see Table 1 below. Please note, in-year spend is subject to end of year sign-off in March 2021.
The Mayor and Transport for London have sought to deliver the infrastructure needed to operate the scheme in the most cost-effective way possible.
FY
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
Total
17/18
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.01
0.05
0.05
0.04
0.04
0.17
0.40
18/19
0.06
0.10
0.17
0.21
0.22
0.18
0.24
0.33
0.43
0.37
0.47
0.67
0.19
3.65
19/20
0.56
0.90
0.72
1.25
1.13
0.65
1.62
2.56
2.00
1.26
2.00
2.88
4.54
22.08
20/21
1.86
2.52
2.51
2.10
2.97
3.73
4.36
5.21
4.7
6.0
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
21/22
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
TBC
Table 1 – Actual spend on ULEZ Expansion. All figures shown in millions
Table 1. ULEZ expansion spend to date by period. Figures shown in millions

TfL, shop vendors & business rents

Murad Qureshi: During the lockdowns we have had during the pandemic, has TfL given its shop vendors in tube stations etc reduced business rents?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has worked closely with all its tenants to support them through the coronavirus pandemic.
From 25 March TfL cancelled all rents for small to medium businesses on its estate for three months. As some vendors reopened safely and in line with Government guidelines from July 2020, TfL halved their rent for the following quarter. TfL offered continued support to those businesses forced to remain closed throughout the year due to lockdown restrictions, and this was provided on a case by case basis.
As the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues, TfL has been contacting all its tenants to discuss the best form of support. If its customers have been able to demonstrate they are making a loss, further measures specific to their needs are being reviewed on a month by month basis.

Vaccinating Bus Drivers

Keith Prince: Given that analysis of ONS data shows that TfL Bus Drivers have a risk of dying from Covid-19 that is more than twice that of UK Bus & Coach Drivers and UK Nurses, will you undertake to work with Government and Local NHS Trusts to ensure that all TfL Bus Workers (a) are placed on the Priority Group 2 List for Vaccines once Priority Group 1 distribution is completed and, b) are given Priority Access to any “back up” vaccines that become available during Priority Group 1’s implementation (replicating the Isle of Wight’s successful programme allocating such surplus to its local Bus and Ferry Workers)?

The Mayor: I am pleased that over 1.7 million doses of the vaccine have now been given to Londoners. This is an incredible achievement by the NHS, but we are all aware that we cannot be complacent. There is ongoing work to do to ensure that all vulnerable people in the capital have access to the vaccine and are encouraged to take up the offer. There are groups of Londoners who will need additional support to access the vaccine, and we know from ongoing insight that there are communities who have doubts about having it.
Local authorities continue to be at the forefront of our pan-London work to support the roll out. We continue to work with them closely, alongside PHE and the NHS, to develop messaging and resources that will reach our diverse communities. Many boroughs are also hosting direct conversations with their local communities, and the partnership is supporting and complimenting this work with a number of pan-London events.
The NHS has just started to publish vaccine numbers at a CCG level, and this information will be useful in helping partners across London target their messaging, resources, and support.

Vegetation Removal in Pinner

Navin Shah: I have been contacted by constituents regarding removal of vegetation trackside in Pinner. According to residents, they received no advance warning of this work, which has had an impact on animal habitats. Can you provide full details as to why this work, in this specific area was carried out and whether residents were given notice of this work. Are there plans to mitigate the damage that this work has caused to the environment, but also the potential for greater noise disturbance from Met Line trains?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is currently carrying out works to remove vegetation across the network to maintain a safe railway for customers, staff, and local residents.
TfL has set up a new team to manage these works and is proactively managing fast-growing trees such as Ash and Sycamore that have overrun the embankments to the detriment of slower growing species such as Oak and Larch. Ash trees in particular grow very tall very quickly, which makes them unstable and at risk of falling onto the track. TfL needed to address this alongside other safety issues such as maintaining train operators’ line of sight and ensuring the safety of lineside equipment. These works are done by experienced contractors, and the areas are fully assessed to minimise any ecological damage and impact on wildlife.
TfL carries out extensive vegetation management across its network throughout the year, and prioritises notifying local residents in cases where significant levels (for instance more than three consecutive shifts) of targeted vegetation/tree clearance are due to be carried out in a particular area. No such targeted works are planned over the coming year.
TfL advises that vegetation is not an effective mitigation against railway noise and its removal will not increase noise levels.

Unconscious Bias Training in the Metropolitan Police Service

David Kurten: According to answers to Mayor’s Questions MQ 2019/4137 and MQ 2020/1644, approximately 23,000 Metropolitan Police Service officers and staff have been given unconscious bias training1. 2How much did this cost?

1https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/4137
2https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/1644

The Mayor: The approach taken to training in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) means that the complex subject of unconscious bias is embedded into a range of training interventions where the concept can be contextualized in situation. As such it is not possible to provide a specific cost from within the overall training budget.

EWS1 changes (3)

Andrew Dismore: Recent reports state that RICS is consulting on the use of EWS1 forms, particularly where there is no cladding visible on a high-rise building. How is it anticipated this will impact upon London and the work of the LFB?

The Mayor: I wrote to the Secretary of State about the EWS1 system in September 2020 and asked for clarity on where and when EWS1 forms should be required.
However, until full funding is available for all remedial works and remediation can be taken forward at a faster pace, London Fire Brigade does not anticipate that there will be a significant impact on their workload.

Projects to prevent serious crimes

Susan Hall: Further to your press release dated 16/02/18 entitled “Mayor provides £10m for new projects to prevent serious crimes”, please outline how your funding has, to date, helped to tackle:

. child sexual exploitation;
. female offending;
. youth offending.

The Mayor: Since delivery began in Autumn 2018, the projects funded have, among other positive outcomes: Supported 398 vulnerable young people caught up in county lines activity and created regional intelligence hubs to identify those being exploited. Supported 168 young people to address their harmful sexual behaviours, with 70% of those completing the intervention reporting a reducing risk, and trained over 300 professionals to improve their understanding of harmful sexual behaviour. Over 3,300 women in contact with the criminal justice system have been supported to improve their health and wellbeing, safety from domestic abuse, and financial management. They have also reduced their substance misuse, all of which tackle the risk factors associated with female offending.

Global Cities FRS comparison (2)

Andrew Dismore: How does the size of LFB’s budget (£43.36 per head of London’s population per year) compared to Toronto’s (£105.43 per head per year) impact on the work it is able to undertake? What limitations does it put on the work of LFB?

The Mayor: While the different circumstances and arrangements of international fire and rescue services make direct comparisons difficult I am clear that the government needs to properly fund the Fire Brigade across all its work streams. I will continue to do all that I can to ensure that London Fire Brigade is properly funded to keep Londoners safe. My final Draft Budget for 2021-22 was approved without amendment by the Assembly on 25 February 2021. This included a further £15million to the London Fire Commissioner component budget, which is equivalent to the savings target set in my Budget Guidance published in 2020. £8.1 million of this funding is expected to recur in future years. This funding will be allocated to core expenditure, to reduce reliance on reserves and enable a balanced budget to be planned for both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The London Safety Plan – or Community Risk Management Plan - will determine how the Brigade can best make sure that Londoners are protected, taking into account the complex and emerging risk environment.

Safer Neighbourhood Boards (1)

Steve O'Connell: What level of funding will Safer Neighbourhood Boards receive as part of your 2021-22 budget?

The Mayor: You will be aware, as part of my Action Plan for Transparency, Accountability and Trust in Policing, that there will be a review of the existing community engagement mechanisms. This includes the Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNBs). The Covid 19 pandemic has understandably had a significant impact on the SNBs’ ability to support and deliver community-based engagement projects. Resources will be provided to carry the SNBs though the review period, but this is likely to be at a reduced level reflecting their reduced capacity to deliver during the pandemic. Funding arrangements for 2021/2 will be confirmed shortly.

LFB Transformation plan and the Mayor’s Budget

Andrew Dismore: The Transformation plan is key to the Brigade addressing the issues identified by the GTI and HMICFRS reports. Whilst progress is being made on meeting these recommendations, how does your budget protect the Transformation Plan and ensure that LFB is better placed to meet complex and tragic fire safety and emergency planning incidents like Grenfell Tower or the London Bridge attack?

The Mayor: My budgetprotects London Fire Brigade frontline servicesto maintain high standards of operational response and vital preventative work, while the Brigade continues to deliverits transformation programme. Atransformation reserve of £7,700k has been established to ensure London Fire Brigade (LFB) has the necessary resources to deliver the Transformation Delivery Plan and address the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. Prioritisation of the transformation reserve is managed through the Portfolio Board, chaired by the Director of Transformation, to ensure organisational oversight.

Monitoring the safety of London’s Built Environment

Andrew Dismore: The Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning (FREP) Committee has highlighted repeatedly the challenges of London’s built environment post-Grenfell. The truth is that we don’t know the extent of the danger, but most recent estimates from MHCLG suggest there are 62,000 buildings in London that pose a high risk of fire. How does your budget support the work by LFB which monitors fire safety issues in London’s built environment in order to protect those whose buildings have been identified as having some form of dangerous cladding?

The Mayor: Within London, MHCLG have identifiedin excess of62,000 premises that they consider may fall within ‘higher risk’ categories and fall within the scope of the new building safety regulator. That includes care homes, sheltered housing blocks, and hospitals where the vulnerability of the residents is a crucial factor. Last year, London Fire Brigade was allocated £5.5 million from the Protection Board. This supports the Building Risk Review Programme (£2.3m), whereby all high-rise residential premises are being checked and inspected, and Protection Programme (£3.2m) which is being used to bolster other protection activities. The resourcing consequence of what the Brigade now knows about the built environment remains a challenge and they would like to see the current protection grant continue and for the funding requirements to be consolidated for the longer term. I will continue to do all that I can to ensure that London Fire Brigade is properly funded to keep Londoners safe.

London Mental Health Cultural Festival

Susan Hall: What evidence is there that the Mental Health Cultural Festivals you have been delivering for young Londoners, have resulted in positive effects on their mental health?

The Mayor: London’s World Mental Health Day festival is held annually, co-developed by my Peer Outreach Team and Thrive LDN to encourage young Londoners to discuss mental health, emotional wellbeing, and means of getting support, through workshops and creative activities.
In October 2020, over 1,000 people viewed festival content, and took part in online discussions and workshops on the day. Feedback from participants across all festivals shows increased awareness of the support available for mental health and wellbeing and established a sense of community, positivity and resilience that combatted feelings of isolation, uncertainty and hopelessness.

119m support for police officers (1)

Susan Hall: Has all of the £119m you pledged in 2019 to support Met Police officer numbers in future years been allocated? Please provide headline figures detailing where & when it was spent.

The Mayor: The draft MOPAC budget included the use of the £118.6m Business Rates reserve across 2021/22 and 2022/23 (£59.3m per year). This money has funded approximately 1,000 officers who would otherwise have been unaffordable in each of these years.
With the Council Tax base being better than anticipated by the GLA an additional £30m a year is available to the MPS, which secures the funding of these officers up to 2024/25.

Taith (Journey) London (2)

Susan Hall: Please detail how your £1,857,863 of funding in 2018 for Taith (Journey) London has since helped to provide assessment & specialist intervention to child & young people displaying harmful sexual behaviour. What is the evidence that this support has since helped them to take responsibility for their behaviour & for them to be able to develop safe & healthy relationships?

The Mayor: Taith has provided effective support to children and young people to address their harmful sexual behaviours.168 young people have been engaged since the service started in Autumn 2018. To date, 53 have completed their assessment and intervention with 70% reporting a reducing risk of abusive/offending behaviours and 60% improving their ability to develop healthy relationships. In addition to the specialist support provided to children and young people over 300 professionals have attended training, improving their knowledge and understanding of harmful sexual behaviour.

Taith (Journey) London (1)

Susan Hall: Subsequent to your £10m investment in 2018 to combat serious crime, please outline the effectiveness of your £1,857,863 of funding for Taith (Journey) London over 3 years, to provide a specialist service targeted at perpetrators of harmful sexual behaviour in Barking & Dagenham, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, Redbridge, Wandsworth & Westminster. Please provide examples.

The Mayor: Taith (Journey) London has provided effective support to children and young people to address their harmful sexual behaviours.168 young people have been engaged since the service started in Autumn 2018. To date, 53 have completed their assessment and intervention with 70% reporting a reducing risk of abusive/offending behaviours and 60% improving their ability to develop healthy relationships. The final evaluation is due to be produced in Spring 2021.
In addition to the specialist support provided to children and young people over 300 professionals have attended training, improving their knowledge and understanding of harmful sexual behaviour and raising the profile of harmful sexual behaviour in those boroughs.